Right on track: Final contracts for Hamrawein to be signed September

CAIRO – 27 August 2018: The final contracts for the Hamrawein coal-fired power plant are expected to be signed in September during President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s visit to Beijing, China.

Sisi’s visit is also expected to reap a number of fruitful cooperation agreements in the educational, transport and housing sectors.

Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, announced July 3, 2018, the establishment of a major power station in Moussa Water Spring (Ayoun Moussa) in Sinai. The station is set to produce 2,640 Mega Watts, feeding all of Sinai with electricity.

During his announcement of the project, Shaker pointed out that a number of alliances have been created to ensure that this project is done to the highest of standards.

Furthermore, during his meeting with the Energy and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives (Parliament) on July 3, 2017, Shaker said that the electricity that will be produced from this power plant will be used to develop Sinai, helping Sinai continue on the path towards development.

Shaker suggested that the power station will be able to feed the whole of Sinai, including the three million houses that will be built by the government as part of their development plan for the area.

Shaker pointed out that there are a number of new projects for pumping and storage of ‘hydro power projects’ to generate energy for the expansion of energy and space for the maximum capacity and approved in the lifting of treated water. There are also two new stations in Luxor for pumping and storage that will produce electricity with high capacity.

With an eye on details and sustainability, Shaker confirmed the importance of up-keeping and servicing the station, especially given the high temperature in the area within which the station is built. He also pointed out that there will be a need to provide electric reserves to accommodate the increase of loads.



The Clean Coal Power Plant, which will be in Moussa Water Springs (Ayoun Moussa), will be the first coal-fired plant in Egypt. Located on the Sinai Peninsula in the Suez region of Egypt, the plant will be developed by Emirati investment company Al Nowais Investments in cooperation with the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company.

As it is the first coal plant in Egypt, coal will need to be imported, mainly from South Africa and Indonesia, to ensure that the plant operates to its full capacity.

HSBC is the financial adviser for the project, which will received 70 percent of its finance from Al Nowais Investments and the remaining 30 percent from foreign and local investors, and the Italian firm Technimont will serve as a technical consultant.

In keeping with Egypt’s 2030 Agenda, which includes reducing carbon dioxide emissions and shrinking Egypt’s carbon footprint, to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions, the Ayoun Moussa plant will use ultra super-critical low NOx pulverised-coal burners.



Hamrawein Power Plant

Simultaneously, Egypt will see the development of another clean coal-fired energy plant, estimated to cost some $4.2 billion.

Set to be the largest coal-fired power plant in the region (Middle East and Africa), the plant will constitute six 1,000-Mega-Watts-generation units. The Hamrawein Power plant is expected to take seven years to be build on the Red Sea Coast, and is expected to produce a whooping 6,000 Mega Watts.

In comments to Al-Bawaba News, Shaker revealed that there are a number of new pumping and storage projects, called “water power plants,” that are designed to generate electricity for the expansion of energy, including a new pumping station with higher capacity than the Aswan High Dam. He added that these plants will produce electricity with high capacity, making it one of the most important hydro power plants.

In late June 2018, “A Chinese consortium of Hassan Allam Construction, China’s Shanghai Electric and Dong Fang has won a USD 4.4 billion contract from the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) to build a 6 GW clean coal power plant on the Red Sea,” writes Enterprise. This means that a considerable part of the project will be done by Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary, PGESCO.

The Hamrawein plant will be built on an engineering, procurement and construction, plus finance (EPC+F) basis, MEED reports.

During his time in Parliament on July 3, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy said that President Sisi is expected to visit China in September to discuss the signing of the power plant agreement.

A look-term plan in the works

Egypt’s long-term strategic energy plan is currently on track, which begins in financial year 2018/2019 and ends in financial year 2029/2030, with major parts of the plan taking place in the current financial year (2018/2019). This year will feature $1.833 billion for wind farms, $229 million for solar PV and $3.662 for solar thermal power plants.

The plan includes $135.258 billion and $38.6 billion, respectively, for electric power and coal power. In the upcoming financial year (2019/2020), the strategic plan includes $3.365 billion in investments for coal out of $10 billion in total.

In the financial year 2021/2022, $7.529 billion is budgeted for coal power plants, while $484 billion for solar PV and $2.972 billion for solar thermal (out of a total of $12.781 billion) are set to be spent.

“Overall, during the period, 16,800 MW will be added from coal, 4,800 MW from nuclear, 4,650 MW from natural gas and oil, 9,350 from wind, 6,950 MW from solar thermal, and 9,020 from solar PV. The total capacity increase in the period is 51,738 MW,” writes SourceWatch.



On Track

Project contracts of Hamrawein 6,000MW coal-fired power plant are expected to be signed by mid-2018, with operations to start five-six years later, Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker told Egypt Today October 16, 2017.

At the time of his statement the international consultant of the project, Belgian Tractebel Engineering Consultancy, was still studying the offers made by bidders. The consortiums included Shanghai Electric and Dong Fang Electric consortium, and a Japanese-American consortium led by General Electric (GE) and a consortium of Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi-Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS).

In late June 2018, “A Chinese consortium of Hassan Allam Construction, China’s Shanghai Electric and Dong Fang has won a USD 4.4 bn contract from the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) to build a 6 GW clean coal power plant on the Red Sea,” writes Enterprise. This means that a considerable part of the project will be done by Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary, PGESCO.

Speaking at an event organized by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) on October 16, 2017, to review latest developments of the electricity sector, hosting Shaker as a keynote speaker, the minister highlighted that the project’s construction is expected to take from five to six years, with each phase of the plant to enter operations at 2,000MW.

The project is planned under the Electricity Ministry’s 2022-2027 program on EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) + Finance basis.