Iranian, Syrian energy ministers discuss building power stations

Iran's state and private firms are ready for further cooperation in rebuilding Syrian power stations, said Minister of Energy Habibollah Bitaraf recently.

In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Munib Sa'im al-Dahr, Bitaraf stressed that the volume of Iran-Syria transactions stand at 200 million dollars at present which is expected to increase given the efforts made by Tehran and Damascus to this effect.

After the meeting, the two government officials headed to the Qudsya power station in a Damascus suburb built by the Iranian firm Safa-Niku.

The Iranian and the Syrian ministers studied the level of mutual cooperation and voiced satisfaction with construction of the power station.

The Iranian firm Safa-Niku had won an international tender held by Syria's power transmission company in 2001, said the director of the company Mohammad Hadi Shahbeygi.

Bitaraf held separate meetings with Syrian Minister of Irrigation Nadir al-Bunni and Minister of Housing and Construction Muhammad Nihad Mushantat during his visit.

BBC Monitoring Middle East