Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
Newsdesk @ The Cradle, June 26, 2022
The fifth unit in Aleppo’s thermal power plant, located in the eastern countryside of the Syrian governorate, resumed operations on a trial basis earlier this week, due to repairs made by the Iranian turbine engineering and manufacturing company, Mapna.
Syrian Minister of Electricity Ghassan al-Zamil told media that his ministry was still running tests, which are currently in their final stages, before the plant can become fully operative.
The plant, which was responsible for supplying electricity to Aleppo and its countryside, was subjected to fires in 2013, which resulted in damage to some of its tankers.
Parts of the facility equipment were looted by ISIS members at the time, after the extremist group assumed control over Aleppo’s eastern countryside.
“The fifth unit in the thermal power station in Aleppo to generate electricity will return to work, after being repaired by the Iranian Mapna Company … it is expected that the first unit will also return to work soon,”
the Iranian Cultural Chancellery in Damascus said in a statement.
The plant is an “important lever in the Syrian electricity network, as it produced 1,100 megawatts before the war, meaning that it will make a fundamental change in the issue of electricity if it returns to its full production capacity, which will positively affect Aleppo and the whole of Syria,” the statement added.
Elias al-Ahmar, one of the plant’s maintenance supervisors, said that the test run has exceeded 24 hours, and will now be monitored until it is safe for production to begin. The plant has access to enough fuel to ensure that operations would not be halted, he added.
Syria has been suffering severe fuel shortages over the last few years due to harsh sanctions imposed by the US under the so-called Caesar Act, which was passed by the US Congress in 2019, and which prohibits individuals and companies from conducting any business with Damascus.
On top of the fuel shortages, Syria has also been subjected to the constant looting of its oil by US forces, who are illegally occupying the country under the pretext of fighting ISIS.
*Featured Image: credit ~Al-Bawaba
