First Coal power plant in Egypt will be constructed at a cost of US$3b a move that will boost the country’s power sector. The move comes after the country signed a power plant construction deal with Siemens and scatec.
According to officials in the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, a deal will be signed with a UAE company to help establish the first coal-operated power generating station in South Sinai in March 2016.
The sources said that the ministry is currently finalizing the environmental studies and timetable of the project, where the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company will hold negotiations with the UAE Company about the price of buying energy to be produced by the project.
First Coal Power plant in Egypt will provide a total of 3,960 megawatts of electricity. Experts forecast a shortfall of about 4,000 to 5,000 MW ahead of this summer, when blackouts darkened homes and factories throughout the country of 85 million people.
Coal will be sourced from international markets such as South Africa, Indonesia and others.
Private investment is badly needed to upgrade Egypt’s dilapidated power grid. Although gas shortages are a large part of the energy crisis, experts and Egyptian energy officials say modernizing the grid should be a priority.
But in recent months, Egypt has embarked on an ambitious plan to boost its energy development.
