Home>News Center>World
         
 

US-funded power plant on line in Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-20 10:03

Glistening in Iraq's barren southern salt plains, a natural gas-driven power station has come on line, generating sorely needed electricity for war-weary Iraqis and demonstrating that much-maligned US-led reconstruction efforts are beginning to bear fruit.

US-funded power plant on line in Iraq
A British soldier patrols at a natural gas-driven 250 megawatt electricity power station near Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2006. US officials said Sunday that increasing Iraq's electricity generating capacity is crucial to American efforts to encourage Iraqis to turn their backs on the insurgency. (AP Photo)
US officials said Sunday that increasing Iraq's electricity generating capacity through facilities such as the 250 megawatt electricity plant near the southern city of Basra is crucial to American efforts to encourage Iraqis to turn their backs on the insurgency.

Among the most infuriating problems for Iraqis nearly three years after the US-led invasion remains the lack of regular electricity to run lights and home appliances, including air conditioners during Iraq's summer, when temperatures soar beyond 120 degrees.

Daniel Speckhard, who heads the US reconstruction effort here, said Iraqis had expected instant results after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, which had allow the country's electricity-generating plants and national grid to deteriorate.

"They were hoping instantly to have the same kind of things we have in the United States, where you have 24 hours of power," Speckhard said. "What we are looking for by this coming summer is to get so the whole nation has roughly 12 hours of power, which is significantly better than where we have been."

Of 425 electricity-related projects, only 300 are expected to be completed before the $18.6 billion approved by Congress in November 2003 for reconstruction in Iraq runs out, U.S. officials have said.

Baghdad is among the country's worst off areas with most streets unlit at night and many of the capital's 7 million people relying on generators.

Iraqis living in Basra, the country's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, have an average of 12 hours a day of power already, up from much lower prewar levels, as a result of the new plant.

The United States spent US$123 million to install two 125 megawatt gas-generated turbines that were bought before the war under the UN Oil for Food program. The turbines began operating in late December at the site of a rusting Saddam-era power plant in Khor Az Zubayr, 20 miles south of Basra.

The plant is estimated to add electric power equivalent for what is needed for more than 220,000 households.

U.S. authorities have said maintenance of the plants was as important as installing new facilities so a major focus is on giving Iraqi employees proper training to keep them from feeding turbines with the wrong fuel, leading to breakdowns and lost generating capacity and other problems.

"I feel confident that the plant will be maintained when we leave. It doesn't take many people to operate and maintenance won't be nearly as much as the old facility was," said Robert Lee Cipsey, a construction representative for the US Army Corps of Engineers who oversaw the project, which took one year to complete — six months ahead of schedule.

Col. Larry McCallister, the US military official in charge of reconstruction projects in southern Iraq, said giving Iraqis more electricity was crucial to winning local support and defeating the insurgency.

McCallister acknowledged that insurgent attacks had reduced the number of projects he and other U.S. officials hoped to bring on line with the $18.4 billion of funds earmarked for reconstruction projects.

"We came here with a plan two years ago that we were going to do a lot of projects, but the insecurity increased and our priorities had to shift," McCallister said during a tour of the Khor Az Zubayr site. "We had to suspend some big water projects, but we have continued to push electricity."

Audit reports released recently by Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that guerrilla attacks have forced the cancellation of more than 60 percent of water and sanitation projects in Iraq, in part because American intelligence failed to predict the brutal insurgency.

Iraq's incessant insurgency absorbs as much as 22 percent of project costs, more than double the 9 percent originally budgeted.



USS Park Royal crew await for Rice
Coffin of Milosevic flew to Belgrade
Kidnapping spree in Gaza Strip
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Australia, US, Japan praise China for Asia engagement

 

   
 

Banker: China doing its best on flexible yuan

 

   
 

Hopes high for oil pipeline deal

 

   
 

Possibilities of bird flu outbreaks reduced

 

   
 

Milosevic buried after emotional farewell

 

   
 

China considers trade contracts in India

 

   
  Journalist's alleged killers held in Iraq
   
  No poisons found in Milosevic's body
   
  US, Britain, France upbeat on Iran agreement
   
  Fatah officials call for Abbas to resign
   
  Sectarian violence increases in Iraq
   
  US support for troops in Iraq hits new low
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 在线观看亚洲电影| 蜜桃精品免费久久久久影院| 日韩福利电影网| 午夜视频在线观看一区| 国产精品大片天天看片| 成人欧美精品大91在线| 亚洲欧美国产精品久久久| 精品人妻系列无码一区二区三区| 国产精品无码永久免费888| 久久久一本精品99久久精品66| 欧美乱xxxxx| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕在线| 男人边吃奶边做边爱完整| 国产成人亚洲综合无码精品| www成人在线观看| 樱花草在线社区www韩国| 刘敏涛三级无删减版在线观看| 青草影院内射中出高潮| 国内精品久久久久久无码不卡| 久久久综合久久| 激情内射亚洲一区二区三区爱妻| 国产成人精品一区二三区在线观看| 77777_亚洲午夜久久多人| 成人精品免费视频大全app| 久久午夜夜伦鲁鲁片无码免费| 波多野结衣的av一区二区三区| 国产三级理论片| 全球中文成人在线| 老阿姨哔哩哔哩b站肉片茄子芒果 老阿姨哔哩哔哩b站肉片茄子芒果 | 日本特黄特色aaa大片免费| 亚州1区2区3区4区产品乱码2021| 精品少妇人妻av无码久久| 国产一卡二卡二卡三卡乱码| 2021麻豆剧果冻传媒入口永久| 大陆老太交xxxxⅹhd| jizz在线看片| 日批视频网址免费观看| 久久婷婷五月综合色精品| 最新中文字幕一区| 亚洲精品网站在线观看不卡无广告 | 老司机带带我懂得视频|