Iraq signs $70 million Pratt & Whitney power deal

BAGHDAD, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Iraq has signed a $70 million agreement to buy power generating turbines from the U.S. engineering firm Pratt & Whitney, part of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the Iraqi electricity ministry said on Monday.

Iraq will buy five power generating units which can operate on fuel oil or gas and generate 180 megawatts of power, said Aziz Sultan, head of the electricity ministry's media office. The new units should be ready by June this year, he said.

The deal is much smaller than multi-billion dollar deals the government signed last year with General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) to add nearly 9,000 megawatts of capacity over the next few years.

But it demonstrates the huge need Iraq still has for infrastructure investment after making little headway in the six years since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Iraqis often describe the country's faltering electricity system as one of their main sources of frustration. Many parts of Iraq have just a few hours of electricity per day.

The country has around 11,000 megawatts of installed capacity but due to decades of neglect, war and sanctions it produces only about half that.

Aziz said the Pratt & Whitney contract includes providing spare parts and training for Iraqi staff. (Reporting by Aseel Kami; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Erica Billingham)