Syria and Germany’s Siemens ink power station deal

Syria and German engineering giant Siemens inked a $419 million contract on Thursday for the expansion of a power plant north of Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

“The minister of electricity signed with German group Siemens a contract worth 305 million euros ($419 million) to expand the Nassariya power station in north Damascus,” SANA said.

“Siemens will work to design, manufacture, supply, install and operate all equipment necessary for the creation of an additional branch of the plant,” it added.

The deal comes after the European Union slapped an eighth round of sanctions on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over its brutal crackdown on protesters.

The EU has already prohibited the delivery of bank notes to the Syrian central bank, and banned oil imports and investments in the oil sector. It also imposed an EU travel ban and assets freeze on Assad and his closest associates.