Iraq signs bln-dollar power deals with GE, Siemens

DUBAI, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Iraq has signed preliminary deals worth billions of dollars with General Electric (GE.N) and Siemens (SIEGn.DE) for equipment to almost double electricity generation capacity, a top energy official said on Saturday.

Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) earlier this month for General Electric to supply turbines to generate 6,800 megawatts of power, Iraq's Electricity Minister Karim Waheed told Reuters.

He declined to say how much Iraq would pay GE for the equipment, but said that each megawatt would cost between $700,000 and $800,000. That would give a value of between $4.8 billion and $5.4 billion.

The country has signed a second MOU with Siemens to supply equipment to generate another 2,000 MW, he added. That deal would be worth between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion.

(Reporting by Simon Webb; editing by Dominic Evans)