Elsewedy Electric, a leading integrated energy and infrastructure solution provider in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has announced that along with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, it has completed the EPC contract of four gas insulated switchgear (GIS) substations (each of 400/132/11 kV capacity) in Southern Iraq.
In addition to this, it has completed work on 12 132/33kV mobile GIS substations, said the statement from Elsewedy Electric.
These substations are expected to provide power for a combined total of approximately 1.3 million households, it added.
The contracts awarded by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) were for:
*Maysan 400/132/11kV GIS substation in “Al-Amara Governorate”;
*Al-Muthanna 400/132/11kV GIS substation in “Samawa Governorate”;
*Shattra 400/132/11kV GIS substation in “Al-Nasiriya Governorate”;
*Shatt Al Arab 400/132/11kV GIS substation in “Al-Basra Governorate” and
*12 x 132/33kV Mobile GIS substations.
Elsewedy Electric, which designed and built the 400/132/11kV GIS substations, qualified its engineers for testing and commissioning of GIS switchgear and transformers through an intensive training in Toshiba factories in Japan and India.
All GIS switchgears and high voltage transformers were manufactured by Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) and equipment for 132/33kV mobile substations from Meidensha Corporation.
Despite many challenges, the Egyptian group said it had succeeded in completing each 400/132/11kV GIS substation ahead of the contract schedule; approx. six months earlier than original schedule, where Maysan and Al Muthanna were energized before summer of 2020 followed by the Shattra and Shatt Al Arab projects which were energised by summer of 2021.
The key construction milestone was celebrated at a ceremony held in Basra city today (September 2) which was attended by top Iraqi officials including Asaad Al Eidani, the Governor of Basra and Ziyad Ali Fadel, the Director of the General Directorate of Electricity Transmission in the South Region in addition to Ahmed Elsewedy, the President and CEO of Elsewedy Electric, and Yasuhiro Hidaka, the Project Manager for Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
The special event marked the official inauguration of Shat Alarab substation in Basra, the last one to be connected to the Iraqi grid.
The ¥60 billion EPC-Plus-Finance contract was signed on February 2018 under a buyer's credit agreement (export loan) between the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), with a co-financed portion by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (lead arranger) and Sumitomo-Mitsui Banking Corporation under insurance cover by from Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).
During the project, Elsewedy Electric said it had relied on 1,200 Iraqi engineers and technicians supported by 180 Egyptian professionals, emphasizing on a business model for all its projects in Iraq leveraging on the Iraqi workforce while providing on-job development and training programmes.
"Completing five major challenging projects to the esteemed Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in five years while progress is ongoing in New Babil substation targeting 2022 spring reflects our strong commitment towards Iraq infrastructure development," remarked Elsewedy.
"Our products also are supplied to Iraq since 2005 and recently we committed to develop industrial park starting by factories of Elsewedy Electric serving the Iraqi market with further targets to export from Iraq to neighboring markets," he added.
