TURKEY TO SEND FLOATING POWER SHIP TO PALESTINE

Ankara, 23 Shawwal 1435/19 Agustus 2014 (MINA) – Turkey will send a floating power-generating ship to Gaza, Taner Yildiz, Turkey’s energy minister said Tuesday.

“Turkey will build power plants in Palestine in the long term, but as a quick solution Turkey will send a 100 megawatt power- generating ship from Basra to Gaza offshore in about two to three months,” Yildiz said at a press conference in Ankara with his counterpart from Palestine.

Yildiz said Israel should lift the blockade on the Gaza strip to allow power to be delivered to the city, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Yildiz said Israel hit 10 energy plants in Gaza, which means a total loss of 120 megawatts of energy for Gaza City. Yildiz said he believes Israel’s attitude towards energy in Gaza will be different than its current position since having access to energy is a humanitarian issue.

For a permanent solution to Palestine’s energy problems, Palestine should benefit from its own gas fields, he said. Turkey will take part from now on in any energy bid announced by the Palestine state, Yildiz said. Turkish firms will be in Palestinian gas fields like any other international outlet, he added.

The Palestinian minister of energy, Omar Kittaneh, said he met with Turkish energy firms on Monday and he is very pleased by the results. Kittaneh said they will deliver their plans for the energy sector in Palestine to Turkish authorities within a few days.

Seven floating power plants have been produced so far by the Turkish private sector with 1000 megawatts of capacity.(T/Nidiya/P04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)