NAJAF, Iraq, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Iran will start development of a power station in Iraq's Najaf province, a 320 megawatt grant from its neighbor, a provincial spokesman said.

"The station will alleviate the electricity shortage in Najaf and Karbala," Ahmed Dubeil, the provincial governor's spokesman, told the Voices of Iraq news agency. "This year, an electricity development institution in Iran will start building a thermal station for producing electricity in Najaf's northern area of al-Haidariya."

He said land has been zoned for the project, which is being given to Iraq as part of a grant, he said.

Najaf and Karbala, two of Shiite Islam's most important cities, have been suffering from power shortages. Though the rest of the country is too, the two cities have complained as it's affecting their role as part of religious tourism.

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Karim Waheed Hasan led a delegation to Iran last week. Iran was also awarded a contract for a power plant in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. The ministry has complained that those and other non-Iranian projects need to be started soon or the firms will lose the contracts.