Ceremony to Launch Project for Construction of Diesel Power Station and to Complete Setting up Mobile Substations in Samawah, Iraq

March 28, 2006

1. In connection with Japan's Reconstruction Assistance for Iraq, a ceremony to launch a project for construction of diesel power station and to complete setting up mobile substations in Samawah was held on March 28 (Tue) at 17:00 (local time: 11:00) at the construction site. Attending the ceremony on the Iraqi side were Mr. Mohammed Ali Hassan Abbas Al-hasani, Governor of Al-Muthanna, and other officials concerned; and on the Japanese side, officials of the Liaison Office in Samawah of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces (JGSDF).
2. Regarding the project to construct the power station, work for land leveling and other purposes was already initiated on March 13 (Mon), and the construction will be completed in about two years.
   
   In Iraq, a considerable number of secondary substations (which transform high-voltage power for long distance transmission into voltage for local area transmission) are unable to provide households and factories with sufficient electricity due to functional failure, such failure has caused much difficulty in daily life of Iraqi citizens as well as industrial activities. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq requested Japan to extend assistance in setting up mobile substations for nine Governorates including Baghdad, the capital, and the Governorate of Al-Muthanna, which are specifically in need of urgent rehabilitation. Responding to this request, Japan extended emergency assistance of about 7,900 million yen. With this aid, the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq purchased 23 mobile substations in total, all of which have been put into operation, and two of which have started operation in Samawah.
3. It is expected that through the construction of diesel power station and the operation of the mobile substation, the supply of electricity in Samawah and its surrounding area will become efficient and stable.

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