Egyptian-Saudi electricity linkage project to launch in December

CAIRO – 2 November 2017: The electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Saudi Arabia will launch in December, aiming to exchange a total capacity 3,000 MW between both countries.

Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity has finished construction of direct current (DC) of the substation, at a capacity of 400/500kV, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) Gaber el-Desouki told Egypt Today Thursday.

Meanwhile, the alternating current (AC) will be finished within days, Desouki added.
The project will be fully delivered by 2020, with the first phase to be finished in 2019 at a capacity of 1,200 MW.

“The Egyptian-Saudi linkage project will serve as a basic infrastructure for electricity trade between Arab countries to create a common market for power,” Desouki said.
Costing $1.6 million, Egypt contributes $600 million to the project, while other funders include the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Islamic Development Bank.

“Yield on investment from the project will be 13 percent when the interconnection starts, while the cost will be returned after eight years of operation,” Desouki said, adding that when the project is fully operational, the yield on investment will be 20 percent.
Egypt is expected to start exporting energy by fiscal year 2020/2021 after completing the linkage line project with Saudi Arabia.

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

Power lines between Egypt and Jordan, as well as the lines with Libya are currently being strengthened.