“On Tuesday, a meeting was held between Iran’s energy minister (Hamid Chitchian) and Syrian Electricity Minister (Imad Muhammad Deeb Khamis), and during the talks, mutual cooperation in the area of electricity industry and Iran’s assistance to resolve electricity shortage in Syria were discussed,” Houshang Falahatian told the Tasnim News Agency.
He emphasized that in recent years, Iran has constructed several new power stations in Syria and carried out complete overhauls of some other power plants in the war-stricken country.
The deputy minister added that during the meeting, the Iranian and Syrian ministers also made necessary arrangements to enable Iran's private sector play a more active role in the construction of electric transmission lines and power stations in the Arab country.
According to the Syrian electricity minister, Damascus plans to invest up to $19bln in the power facilities in Syria in the coming years and has invited the Iranian private companies to participate in their tenders, Falahatian said.
Iran, a staunch ally of Syria, has made constant efforts to support Syria’s legitimate government and provide security and welfare for the people of the country since the onset of crisis in 2011.
The Arab country has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently controlling parts of it mostly in the east.