This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Iberdrola se adjudica la construcción de una central de ciclo combinado en Siria

It is the most important contract of these characteristics achieved to date by a Spanish company in the Middle

Iberdrola has been awarded the construction of a cycle combined in Syria plant

Drafting QU01/06/2006

Iberdrola engineering and construction (Iberinco), the largest company of Spanish energy engineering, has been awarded the construction of a cycle combined in Syria, 760 megawatts of power, for 430 million euros. The production of this combined cycle, which will have a next to the 55% electrical efficiency, will serve to cover the provision of one-tenth of the needs of electricity from Syria.

Subsidiary of Iberdrola will pay for the turnkey construction within a period of 26 months, this generation plant, which will be located in the region of Deir to Zor, North-East of the country, in an area of industrial development with important petrochemical holdings and gas. The new plant will be located next to the Euphrates River, which will get the water required for its operation.

The offer presented by Iberinco has been selected by the national company of Syrian electricity, Public Establishment for Electricity Generation and Transmission (Peegt), with two others: that of the Siemens-Koch Consortium - A.S.T.E. and that of the Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin.

This combined cycle will have a 2 x 1 configuration (two turbines of gas + a steam turbine), two boilers of recovery and cooling through natural circulation of dry type Tower, cooling a capacitor of mixture. The plant will build Iberdrola Ingeniería is designed to burn natural gas as a fuel base and diesel oil as a backup fuel.

The company will launch this electric gas plant, 760 megawatts of power, within a period of 26 months

On the other hand, will feature entry air refrigeration units to increase their capacity when the ambient temperature is high; chimneys of bypass of boiler for greater versatility operational, allowing fast transitions from simple cycle to combined cycle status; and gas to operate in a wide range of pressures of supply of natural gas compressors.

This is the first award in East means Iberinco, which at the end of 2004 opened its first Trade Office in the area, in particular in the capital of Qatar (Doha). The contract involves, in addition, a further step to consolidate its new strategy, aimed at engineering and construction, mainly electrical installations of generation, distribution and control, as well as to get out of the Iberdrola group and international projects.

The production of this combined cycle, which will be located in the region of Deir to the Zor, will cover 10 per cent of the needs of electric power of Syria

In this sense, Iberinco, whose template is already over 1,200 people just a decade after its birth, he has a portfolio of projects in which the contract to third parties (excluding Iberdrola and inter-business) represents 80 per cent. This subsidiary expected to get a turnover of 600 million euros in 2006 and a net profit of 32 million, which would lead to an increase of 20 percent on achieved last year.

Also, the award of this new project is part of the bet by organic growth which Iberdrola has made since the adoption of its Strategic Plan 2002-2006, focused on investing in the energy business, primarily in generation using clean energy - renewable and combined cycle power plants, especially parks wind-, and whose goal is to double the size and the results of the company at the end of the period.

Castejón (Navarra) combined cycle plant

Cycles combined into Spain

During the first quarter of this year, the Iberdrola group has achieved a production of electricity from 23.143 million kilowatts an hour (kWh), an increase of 8.2 per cent with respect to the same period of 2005. The company has also increased its electricity production in Spain until March, with 17.756 million kilowatt hours, a figure which represents a growth of 5.6 per cent for the first quarter of last year.

Aceca (Toledo) combined cycle plant

The increase in the generation of electricity from the company was due to the implementation, since the beginning of the Strategic Plan, new renewable energy facilities and gas combined cycle plants - especially parks wind-that they have made it possible to offset the decline in water availability caused by drought.

In fact, the increased production by clean technologies has allowed Iberdrola significantly reduce their emissions to the atmosphere in the period, both group - from 250 grams of CO2 per kWh to 229 - of Spain - from 227 grams of CO2 per kWh up to 197-

The electricity produced by the Spanish Iberdrola facilities in the ordinary regime has placed 15.129 million kWh, thanks to the increase of the 41.1 per cent through combined cycle generation, which has reached the 4.062 billion kWh. This figure almost twice the amount of energy generated in our country through 1.696 billion kWh (14.4 per cent less) coal and fuel oil (557 million kWh, 53.6 per cent less).

The award of this new project is part of the strategic bet by organic growth by Iberdrola

In particular, it should be noted the increase in production of combined cycles of Arcos de la Frontera (1,220 billion kWh, + 83.2 per cent), Santurce (447 million kWh, + 1.4%), Castejón (379 million kWh, + 36.4%) and Bay of Biscay electricity, BBE (292 billion kWh)(+ 98.2%). In addition, the contribution of the plants of Castellón (1,016 billion kWh), has remained stable Aceca (432 billion kWh) and Tarragona (276 billion kWh).

It should be noted the increase in production of combined cycles of Arcos de la Frontera, Santurce, Castejón and Bay of Biscay electricity

Ignacio Galán, new CEO

Ignacio Sánchez Galán assumed the Executive of Iberdrola Presidency, in April as already agreed unanimously, the Council of administration of the company last year. The new President held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the company from the month of May 2001. Galán has agreed to the Presidency of Iberdrola in replacement of Inigo Oriol, who established the rules of procedure of the

Board of Directors, has remained in Office until the first meeting of this body has been held after the General meeting of shareholders of 2006, after age 70.

The members of the Board of Directors have pointed out that as a new appointment Executive Chairman of Iberdrola of Ignacio Galán, who also will continue to exercise the functions of the Chief Executive, responds to the successful course followed by the company since its incorporation to the same five years ago.

In this regard, directors have shown that Iberdrola has managed to double its value in this period of time, up to reach 24,000 million euros, has been fulfilled, with at least one year in advance, the main goals of its ambitious strategic Plan 2002-2006 and has become a multinational company renowned in the new Europe of the euro.

Also, the members of the Council stressed the qualities of the new head of Iberdrola, as his inexhaustible capacity of work and strong commitment to the company, its ability to create world-class professional teams and promote new projects, and its efforts in meeting the expectations of shareholders, customers, employees and society to which company provides its services.