VZCZCXRO6967
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4144 3541913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201913Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4964
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS BAGHDAD 004144
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ENRG ETRD IZ CH
SUBJECT: EPRT-WASIT: WASIT'S NEW CHINESE POWER PLANT
1. (SBU) On 17 December Wasit Governor Abd al-Latif Hamad
Turfa told Team Leader ePRT and CDR 214th FB that he
accompanied the Minister of Electricity to China to witness
the signing of a power plant contract between the GOI and
Shanghai Heavy Industry for the construction of a power plant
that will generate "over 1,200 megawatts" of electricity.
Turfa said the completion of the contract was the culmination
of two years of negotiations between the Chinese company and
the GOI based on discussions that began during the Saddam
Hussein regime. He initially claimed that the plant would be
"100 percent staffed by Iraqis" but later noted that an
advance team of "Chinese employees" would arrive in Wasit in
six months. (Note: The Governor is not known for his mastery
of details on most issues. End note.) The plant will be
located in Zubaydiyah, a small town on highway six (Alternate
Supply Route Bismarck) between Al Aziziyah and An Numaniyah.
However, Turfa said the director would have an office in
Amman, Jordan.
CROCKER