Hassan Allam Construction, a subsidiary of the regional heavy civil powerhouse Hassan Allam Holding, has been officially awarded the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for a new 200-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic plant in Egypt’s Aswan Governorate. Significantly, this project is not just a standard solar farm; it includes the integration of a massive Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Located within the footprint of the world-renowned Benban Solar Park—already one of the largest concentrated solar installations on the planet—this new phase represents a critical shift from basic intermittent generation to dispatchable, grid-stabilizing renewable energy.

Jobsite Impact: Pile Driving and Thermal Management

Executing a heavy civil and electrical build in the Western Desert presents extreme logistical and environmental challenges. For the Hassan Allam site crews, the immediate “Jobsite Impact” involves mobilizing heavy equipment for extensive civil earthworks across the arid terrain.

The foundation phase requires rapid pile driving—installing thousands of galvanized steel posts directly into the hardpack desert floor to support the single-axis tracker systems that will carry the bifacial solar modules. Beyond these energy projects, the firm is also expanding its urban footprint, as evidenced by Hassan Allam winning a $250 million contract to build Afreximbank’s African Trade Center in Egypt, further demonstrating their capacity for large-scale, high-impact infrastructure.

Benban 200 MW Solar + BESS: Factsheet

Project Name: Benban 200 MW Solar PV + BESS Facility

Location: Benban Solar Park, Aswan Governorate, Egypt

Client/Developer: [Pending formal disclosure – typically a major IPP operating within Benban]

Construction Team:

Main EPC Contractor: Hassan Allam Construction (Hassan Allam Holding)

Grid Operator/Interconnection: Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC)

Technical Scope:

200 MW Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic (PV) generation.

Utility-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

Turnkey civil, mechanical, and electrical integration.

Key Jobsite Activities: Steel pile driving, tracker installation, BESS concrete foundations, high-voltage cabling.

Strategic Driver: Providing dispatchable renewable energy to the Egyptian national grid and mitigating intermittent solar generation.

The most technically demanding aspect of the EPC scope is the BESS integration. Utility-scale batteries are highly sensitive to the extreme thermal loads of the Egyptian desert. The construction team must pour heavily reinforced concrete pads designed to bear the immense weight of the modular battery containers. Furthermore, the electrical tie-in requires complex high-voltage trenching to connect the DC solar arrays to the BESS, and then route the AC output through specialized step-up transformers and inverters. This infrastructure ensures the stored power can be safely injected into the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) grid during peak evening demand.

Strengthening Egypt’s Grid

As the primary EPC contractor, Hassan Allam is responsible for the entire turnkey delivery—spanning mechanical, electrical, and civil disciplines. By pairing 200 MW of raw generation with utility-scale storage, this facility will help smooth out the “duck curve” of solar generation, preventing grid curtailment during the day and providing firm capacity after sunset. Mobilization of the site compound and initial topographical surveys are expected to commence immediately, drawing on the local supply chain and specialized trades already familiar with the Benban complex’s rigorous operational standards.