A new MAPNA utility, the 484-MW power plant of Shobad, joined the national grid on Tuesday, November 15th, in a ceremony attended by VP Eshaq Jahangiri and Minister of Power Hamid Chitchian.
Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri praised MAPNA Group and its participation in major industrial contracts worth over 2 billion USD during the opening ceremony.
Dubbing management capabilities and skilled human resources as Iranian power sector’s strong suit, Jahangiri stated that the electricity industry has shown significant growth in domestic and international areas. “MAPNA for example has participated in major contracts and projects whose value exceeds 2 billion USD” he said.
Jahangiri had attended the ceremony to officially inaugurate the first phase of Shobad combined cycle power plant in Kahnouj, southeast of Iran. MAPNA was the EPC contractor of the power plant which includes two 162-MW gas units and one 160-MW steam unit. Main equipment were also manufactured and supplied by MAPNA. The 310-million euro financing of the project was undertaken by the private sector.
“MAPNA is determined to carry out construction of steam units for combined cycle power plants” MAPNA President Abbas Aliabadi said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony. “Since mid-2013, we have added more than 5700 MWs of new power capacity to the national grid, and an extra 500 MWs by upgrading older units.”
Minister of Power Hamid Chitchian also praised MAPNA’s performance in construction of Shobad power plant. Chitchian also announced plans for annual installment of 3300 MWs of power plant during the upcoming years.
Twenty-eight new power plants with a combined capacity of 5000 MWs started operation across the country simultaneous with the launch of Shobad power plant, among them two other MAPNA projects, the F-class combined cycle power plant in Bandar Abbas on the coast of the Persian Gulf and Assaluyeh power plant.
Construction of Shobad power plant started in early 2014. The first gas unit of the power plant was delivered one year later in early 2015 and the second gas unit was commissioned in spring of the same year. The steam unit was synchronized to the national grid in August 2016. A consortium of MAPNA subsidiaries led by MAPNA Combined Cycle Power Plants Construction & Development (MD-2) Company was in charge of the project.
