Egypt plans electricity link to Saudi Arabia in $1.6 bln project

Egypt is planning to connect its electricity network to Saudi Arabia, with the link expected to cost about $1.6 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing Egypt’s Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker.

Egypt will pay about $600 million, Shaker said at a conference in Cairo. Contracts will be signed in March or April, and construction is expected to take about two years, he said.

The link should have a capacity of 3,000 megawatts, he added.

The move will allow Egypt to export electricity when there is a surplus and import power during shortages.

"It will enable us to benefit from the difference in peak consumption,” Shaker was quoted as saying. “The reliability of the network will also increase.”

In 2009, a power grid linked Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, allowing the GCC states to transmit electricity across borders. The aim of the grid is to ensure that member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council can import power in an emergency, the news agency said.