Cairo, In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Energy Minister, and both Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Minister of International Cooperation Mohammed Shaker Al-Markabi and Rania Al-Mashat, respectively, the Saudi Electricity Company and Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company signed awarded contracts of the electric connection projects between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
On the occasion, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz said that reaching this important stage of the projects is a coronation of directives of the two countries' leaderships, which push for enhancing solid brotherly relations and instilling deep-rooted and distinguished ties between them to realize the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples in implementation of a memorandum of understanding in the electric connection field signed by the two countries in the presence of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as part of a pack of economic and development agreements between the two countries.
The Saudi Energy Minister noted that the plans of electric connection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general is in harmony with its executive programs under the Saudi Vision 2030 enjoying the interest of HRH the Crown Prince, which aim at investing the strategic location of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its possession of the biggest power grid in the Arab world and Middle East, which can make it a regional hub for exchanging electric power through electric connection projects with other countries in a way that contributes to enhancing the regional market of electricity trade and supports the participation of the two counties in such schemes.
For his part, Al-Markabi said that the project is a result of deep-rooted Egyptian-Saudi ties throughout history, citing the directives of both countries' leaderships and ensuring the entrepreneurship of Cairo and Riyadh in realizing economic and social goals of countries of the entire Arab world, taking into consideration that the connection will be the first step of the joint Arab connections, in addition to the fact that it complements and supports both countries' vision of 2030.
He added that the project represents a strong connection between the biggest two power grids in the region and reflects the stability and increasing credibility of electric supplies between the two countries, in addition to the magnitude of the economic and development returns to exchange up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity.
He also added that in line of the ambitious plans of the two countries to expand reliance on renewable energy resources, this connection represents a safety valve for the two grids in facing the instable nature of renewable energies in general and provides huge investments to address any of these impacts.
The contracts that were signed in synchronization between Riyadh and Cairo included three alliances for local and international companies to implement the 3,000-megawatt connection projects with the HVDC technology at a total voltage of 500 kilovolts. They also include establishing three high-voltage transfer stations: eastern Madina and Tabouk stations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Badr Station in Eastern Cairo, connected through aerial transmission lines with a total length of 1,350 kilometers and marine cables in the Gulf of Aqaba with a length of 22 kilometers at a total cost of US$1.8 billion.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
