More than 52 percent of power plants were constructed by private firms in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), head of Iran Power Development Company (IPDC) announced.
Of the total 16 thermal power plants with an aggregate capacity of 2177 MW, seven units with a capacity of 1132 MW were constructed by the private sector last year; Majid Salehi was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying on Sunday.
The IPDC has been assigned with construction of 11 power plants with an aggregate capacity of 1232 megawatts (MW), during the July 2014-2015 timeframe, of which nine units with a total capacity of 1045 MW so far have been built. Two units with an overall capacity of 187 MW will go on stream by July.
There are plans for construction of eight power plants, with a total capacity of 1157 MW, in the current year should funds be allocated in due course. Three units with a capacity of 347 MW will go into operation in the first half of the year and five plants with a total capacity of 810 MW will be constructed by yearend.
Development of three large power plants, namely Ramin Ahvaz, Shazand Arak, and Tabas, with a total capacity of 1950 MW, is on the IPDC's agenda. To this end, IPDC has signed contracts with MAPNA Group to design and procure the equipment.
"The government wants the private sector to play a bigger role in the development of power plants," Salehi said last October, noting that the prolonged process of obtaining construction permits, and more importantly, lack of funding from the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) are the major problems the private sector is grappling with.
Close to $3 billion was allocated in last year's national budget for development of power plants. Iran's installed power capacity is estimated at more than 72,000 MW. It ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of electricity generation.
