- Electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be launched in mid-June, this year
- The estimated project cost is approximately $1.6 billion including the Saudi share of $1 billion
Speaking to the local media, Sabah Mashaly, chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), revealed that the electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be launched in mid-June, this year. The estimated project cost is approximately $1.6 billion including the Saudi share of $1 billion. The balance will be funded by Egypt, covering the value of the work done on its lands. Once the project is completed, it has the capacity to exchange 3,000 megawatt (MW) of electric power daily at peak times, she said. The project will start in June after contracts are signed with the companies that win the bids for the construction of the infrastructure.
The electricity interconnection project cooperation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed in 2013 However, it could not go on stream due to various issues including the overlapping of connection lines with those of the Saudi NEOM project. The main route for the NEOM project had to be reset to evolve a new route for the electrical interconnection project with Saudi Arabia.
According to Egyptian media, the EETC invited in February seven companies to participate in the tender to build the electrical interconnection with Saudi Arabia. However, the bids had to be cancelled as the lines’ route had to be reset. The revised technical and financial offers from companies are expected to be received within two months. According to sources, the list of companies that have been invited is the same as those that participated in the previous tender, namely Elsewedy Electric, state grid corporation of China, Kalpataru, Hyundai, NCC. L&T and KEC. The first phase of the project consists of the building of two alternating current transformer stations, with 500 kilovolts in Badr city, and a station to connect the antenna to the sea cable in the city of Nabq in Egyptian territory. The project’s first phase is expected to be completed by 2023 with a capacity of 1,500 MW, gradually increasing in order to reach 3,000 MW. The details of the next two phases are yet to be known.
Egypt has been working on a strategy to increase its electricity exports, particularly to its neighbors as it has a surplus of about 20,000 MW. Such a move can boost its national income and also position itself as an attractive market for future energy investment. The establishment of a joint Arab electricity market between Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be a significant step towards deeper bilateral economic cooperation offering enormous economic benefits.
