BASRA, Iraq :PowerChina has won a contract worth around $4 billion to build Iraq's first large-scale seawater desalination plant in the southern city of Basra, in partnership with an Iraqi company, officials said on Thursday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani inaugurated the project, which will have a daily capacity of 1 million cubic meters and is expected to begin commercial operations in June 2028. The plant is part of government efforts to address severe water shortages in the