Iran signed a contract with Russia on construction of a power plant with the capacity of 1,400 MW in Bandar Abbas, Hormuzgan Province, announced Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian.

The province of Hormuzgan has currently over 3,000 MW of electricity production capacity, the minister said adding that it will increase by 3,430 MW, IRNA reported.

Chitchian said Iran will turn into an energy hub in the region and hence production and export of the electricity to neighboring countries will be top on the agenda of Energy Ministry.

The ministry has planned to reduce energy loss of power grid by 4 percent during the next 18 months, the official said.

According to Chitchian, all gas power plants will be promoted to combined-cycle power plants by adding steam units in the said period.

A combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines together to produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra power.