The Iraqi government has signed contracts with General Electric for two electricity generation and transmission deals worth more than $1.2 billion.

As part of the deal, GE Gas Power will undertake contracts worth $500 million.These will see the retrofit and maintenance of plants with a total capacity of more than 6GW.The company will also take responsibility for improving the operational efficiency of the facilities. The new contracts have been part of the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity's attempts to meet the growing demand for electricity during the peak period of the summer.

The other agreement, worth $727 million awarded by the ministry, was signed with GE's Grid Solutions.This is aimed at strengthening Iraq's transmission network and its connection with Jordan's electricity grid. Under this agreement, GE's Grid Solutions will design, supply, install, test and commission high-voltage substations and certain overhead transmission lines.

Iraqi Electricity Minister Majid Al-Amara said, "Bringing world-class technology, especially to renovate our plants and keep them running smoothly, is a critical part of this strategy. "The new agreements with GE, a leader in power technology, are an ideal choice for our requirements and are based on the strong partnership we have with the company to provide more power for the country."

GE has also agreed to work with various export credit agencies to facilitate more than $1 billion in financing for projects.

Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Gas Power, said, "GE has a long history in Iraq, and we continue to deliver on our promise to the nation and its people.In recent years, we have further accelerated our project execution to grow and rebuild the country's electricity infrastructure.

"As power demand increases in concert with the growing population and to support industries and development projects, identifying gaps and addressing them is our area of focus."

Earlier, the Iraqi Ministry of Energy signed an $80 million contract with Sweden's Linxon for the construction of four 132/33kV substations in central Iraq.