MHPS helps Iraq on the road to recovery
15 May 2018Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd (MHPS) has received an order from the Ministry of Electricity (MOE) of Iraq for refurbishment of unit 1 of the Hartha fossil-fired power station. The refurbishment work, scheduled for completion in 2020, requires large-scale replacement of core components of the plant’s degraded power generation facilities (gas- and oil-fired boilers and steam turbines) to restore the output to the rated 200 MW after over 30 years of operation. This is the second order for MHPS at the Hartha plant, following refurbishment work on unit 4, which was carried out in March 2015 and completed in December 2017.
The Hartha plant is located in Basra, southern Iraq, and accounts for about 25% of the installed capacity in the province. It was completed in 1982 with aid from Japan, and the original power generation equipment was supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Ministry of Energy has been operating the plant with local engineers familiar with Japanese technology, but following successive conflicts in the region the original facilities have sustained partial damage as well as gradual degradation, so today they are operating at only 60% of their rated capacity. As for the unit 4 refurbishment, funding for the project will be provided by Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as a contribution to Iraq’s recovery.
MHPS will lead the consortium undertaking the construction. The reliability of the facilities will be improved by replacing the main equipment and parts of core components such as boilers and steam turbines, and also introducing an up-to-date distributed control system.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will be in charge of generator-related work, and the Turkish engineering company Gama Power System Engineering & Construction Inc will handle local transportation and installation.
In addition to the Hartha projects, MHPS has a long track record of refurbishment work undertaken for the Iraq Ministry of Energy at fossil fired plants, including Taji, Al-Musaib, and Mosul.