Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 11/ Trend G.Mehdi/
A thermal power plant, with a generation capacity of 2.8 gig watts (GW), was officially inaugurated today in the city of Pakdasht, Tehran, IRIB reported.
The project started in 2003 and cost €270 million plus five trillion rials to complete.
The power plant which is the largest of its kind in the Middle East, adds six per cent to the national electricity generation capacity.
At present, Iran's power generation capacity stands at 67 GW and projected to reach 70 GW by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2013).
Sixteen new power stations with a total capacity of 2.6 GW have come on stream in the current Iranian calendar year. By next September, 23 new power stations will be put into operation with a total capacity of 12 GW.
Iran exported around 177,000 gig watt hours of electricity to its neighbouring countries since the beginning of the current (Iranian) year, showing a 40 per cent rise compared to the corresponding figure in the previous year.
Currently, Iran exchanges electricity with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
It plans to connect national power grids to Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, and India in the future.