TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Abbas Ali-Abadi has said that the program for constructing power plants with a total capacity of 10,000 megawatts (MW) is being seriously pursued using the capacities of domestic companies, IRNA reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to Shahid Bakeri power plant in Semnan Province on Thursday, Ali-Abadi said: “Two 185-MW power plants, as well as several others, are planned to go operational by the end of the current [Iranian calendar] year (late March 2024).”

“The generation of every 1,000 megawatts of electricity in the country requires 500 million euros of investment, and in total, five billion euros will be invested for the construction of power plants with a total capacity of 10,000 megawatts,” he explained.

According to the official, all of the mentioned power plants are being built and operated by relying on the power and knowledge of Iranian experts and engineers.

In October 2021, Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the country’s Energy Ministry for constructing 10,000 MW of power plants across the country.

The MOU was signed by former Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin and Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mehrabian noted that these power plants will be built to meet the needs of industrial sectors and according to the signed MOU, industries will meet their electricity needs through them and the surplus power will be injected into the national grid.

The minister stated that the country is currently facing 14,000 MW of electricity shortage, adding: “This figure equals 22 percent of the country's total electricity demand, which we cannot provide in various sectors including domestic, industrial, administration and agricultural areas.”

As the first power plant unit constructed under the framework of the mentioned MOU, Shahid Bakeri power plant went operational in Semnan Province in early August 2022.

EF/MA