Egypt and Sudan will start operating an electricity interconnection project linking the two countries’ national grids on 12 January, the Egyptian electricity minister announced yesterday.
Speaking at Al-Ahram energy conference, Mohamed Shaker said that the project would operate with a total capacity of 50 megawatts of electricity, noting that its total cost was amounting to 509 million Egyptian pounds ($31.74 million).
“The joint grid will be spanning across a distance of 1,000 kilometres,” Shaker added, pointing out that it was expected to reach a total capacity of 240 megawatts by the end of 2020.
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The energy project was reported by local media to would be implemented by the state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the Indian construction firm, Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).
Since incumbent president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi took power in 2014, Egypt has been seeking to become a regional hub for energy transmission and a leader in renewable energy in the region. The North African country currently has electricity connections with Libya and Jordan, with a capacity of 100 megawatts and 450 megawatts, respectively. It recently said it would connect its national grid with Greece, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.