"This contract, which has been signed by Engineer Abdul Wahab Kadhm, the Central Area's Power Production Manager, on behalf of the Ministry, includes replacing the second, third and the fifth old units with new Japanese units," a ministry source told the Al-Istaqama newspaper.

"An Iraqi company will conduct this project under Japanese supervision," the source added. "A Jordanian company will perform a survey and research for this project."

The Taji plant is powered by propane.

Iraq's Electricity Ministry is looking to boost production capacity by fixing and enhancing current infrastructure and building new plants.

It recently signed deals worth more than $1 billion with firms from China and Iran.