Iraq, Jordan embark upon electrical grid connection project

Iraq, Jordan embark upon electrical grid connection project

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and his Jordanian counterpart Bisher al-Khasawneh met Thursday in the western province of Anbar to launch a groundbreaking project for the electrical grid connection between the two countries.

The length of the power line would be 16 kilometers (10 miles) inside Jordan and 330 kilometers (205 miles) inside Iraq, starting from the Iraqi-Jordanian border of Trebil, passing through al-Rutba area, adjacent to the international road, and ending at Al-Qaim station on the Iraqi border with Syria.

The project is expected to be finalized in mid-2023, providing 150 megawatts (MW) at the first stage and gradually increasing to 500 MW.

Iraq has been working over the last few years on multiple grid connections with its neighbors.

The Iraqi delegation led by Kadhimi signed a grid connection agreement with Saudi Arabia in July during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit. This is in addition to other grid connection project with the Gulf States via Kuwait which Iraq is working to achieve in the future.

Iraq also has a grid connection with Turkey, importing 150 MW, and it imports 1,200 MW from Iran.

Iraq's ultimate goal is to become a transit hub for electricity in the region, in addition to fulfilling the country's need for electricity, which is about 27,000 MW daily,