Jordan-Iraq power project step towards ‘Arab energy market’ — NEPCO

AMMAN — The tender to implement the first phase of the Jordan-Iraq power grid project will end on Monday, where the project, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, will supply Iraq with 400 kilovolts of electricity from Jordan.

Jordan and Iraq seek to build their electrical interconnection, which would allow for energy exchange in "larger" quantities, an Energy Ministry statement said, as cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

According to previous statements by National Electricity Power Company (NEPCO) Director General Amjad Rawashdeh, the Jordanian-Iraqi electrical grid comes within the framework of the Kingdom's aspiration to exchange electricity with its neighbours, which contributes to the stability of power systems and serves plans to establish a “joint Arab energy market”.

The tender, which was announced in early June, includes a stipulation aimed to connect the new 132-kV-capacity Al Risha plant's lines to the project.

According to a NEPCO report, the company in 2021 began the procedures for implementing the Jordanian-Iraqi power connection project by preparing the necessary tenders to build the Al Risha station and connect the facility's lines with an existing power plant in Iraq.

The first phase of the project includes installing a 300-kilometre power line connecting the Kingdom's eastern region with the western region of Iraq, with an estimated cost of $140 million that is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022.