DAMASCUS: The Syrian Electricity Co. signed an agreement with Czech firm Energy Care on Sunday to rehabilitate three generating units at the Aleppo Thermal Power Plant, restoring a combined 639 megawatts of generating capacity once the project is completed.

The deal was signed at the Energy Ministry’s headquarters in Damascus in the presence of Energy Minister Mohammad Al-Bashir and Czech Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic Vitezslav Pivonka.

Imad Abu Ali, director of the plant, signed on behalf of the Syrian company, while Haitham Eid, Energy Care’s representative in Syria, signed for the Czech company.

The agreement covers the rehabilitation of the plant’s second, third and fourth generating units, each with a design capacity of 213 MW.

Under the project timetable, the third unit is scheduled to return to service 18 months after work begins, followed by the fourth after 24 months and the second after 30 months.

Once all three units are operational, the plant’s total design generating capacity is expected to be about 1,040 MW, which includes about 400 MW from the first and fifth units.

The project is part of the Energy Ministry’s broader efforts to rehabilitate power stations, restore generating capacity and improve the reliability of the national electricity grid.

The agreement follows earlier maintenance work at the Aleppo plant, which is one of the country’s largest and a major source of electricity for northern Syria.

Abu Ali said in May that repairs to the first and fifth generating units had increased electricity output to 195 MW from the first unit and 202 MW from the fifth and improved the reliability of power supplies.

The maintenance work addressed technical faults in the plant’s main and auxiliary systems, including repairs to rotary air preheaters, forced-draft air systems and water treatment equipment.