Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Essmat, recently met with a team overseeing the 3,000-megawatt electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The project aligns with the ministry’s strategy to address load shedding, enhance grid stability, improve power supply quality, and meet growing electricity demands.

Essmat emphasized a holistic plan to optimize the energy system, including improving power plant efficiency, reducing fuel consumption, and addressing distribution company losses. Urgency surrounds the completion of the Saudi Arabia interconnection project, with a follow-up meeting planned with Saudi counterparts to finalize details before next summer.

The project, valued at $1.8bn, is already 60% complete and remains on track for a phased launch starting in July 2025. It will connect the two countries’ grids via a network of overhead lines and submarine cables spanning 1,350 kilometres.

The meeting included project managers, consultants, and contractors. Sabah Mashali, Deputy Minister, and Salah Ezzat, Acting President of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, were also present.

By leveraging the differing peak load timings of the two networks, the project aims to maximize generation capacities in both countries while reducing fuel consumption. It represents a significant step toward a regional interconnected grid, promoting greater electricity supply stability and reliability between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with potential economic and developmental benefits.

The project involves constructing three high-voltage transformer stations: one in eastern Saudi Arabia, another in Tabuk, and a third in Badr City, east of Cairo. These stations will be linked by overhead lines and submarine cables, with construction overseen by a consortium of three global companies.

Beyond bolstering domestic supply, the project opens doors for future electricity exports to Asia and Europe, potentially expanding interconnection opportunities with neighbouring countries. Egypt currently generates approximately 58,000 megawatts daily, exceeding its daily consumption of 33,000 megawatts.

 

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