Egypt studies power interconnection with Greece, Cyprus

CAIRO – 20 November 2017: The Ministry of Electricity is currently conducting feasibility studies to launch an electricity interconnection project between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus.

In a Monday statement from the ministry, chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) Gaber El-Desouki said that the project would become part of a larger power linkage project between Europe and Africa.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived to the Cyprus capital, Nicosia, on Monday for his first official visit to the country.

Sisi is scheduled to participate in the fifth Egyptian-Greek-Cypriot tripartite summit on Tuesday. Several topics are expected to be discussed during the summit, including coordination between the three countries, as well as enhancing the relations in the political, economic, trade, security and tourism fields.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are currently developing a power interconnection project aiming to exchange a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts between both countries.

The Ministry of Electricity has finished constructing a direct current (DC) of the substation, at a capacity of 400/500 volt, meanwhile, the alternating current (AC) will be finished within days. The project will be fully delivered by 2020, with the first phase expected to be finished in 2019 at a capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

Egyptian electricity is sometimes exported to Jordan as the linkage line between both countries currently works at capacities that range between 400 to 450 megawatts. These capacities are currently being increased.