Eight companies presented their technical offers for the electricity linkage with Saudi Arabia. According to sources in the Ministry of Electricity, the technical offers will be assessed in cooperation with TransGrid Solutions (TGS), the project’s consultant. Qualified companies will be requested to present their financial offers, scheduled in July.
The sources told Daily News Egypt that competing companies include Saudi Arabia’s NCC, India’s Kalpataru Power Transmission, China’s State Grid Corporation, India’s KEC International Limited, Energy China, and Korea’s Hyundai.
The winning company will establish a 450km air-transmitter line from Badr City’s transformer station to Nabq station, as well as an 850km long aerial transmission line between Nabq station through the Tabuk transformers to the East Madina station.
The switch stations in Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be linked by land cables, in addition to a submarine cable of 500 kV, which is to cross the Gulf of Aqaba at a length of 16km.
In parallel, three companies presented their technical offers for electric switches, in which the Saudi side will take over the examination of offers and will contract with the winning company.
The companies applying include Siemens, ABB, and General Electric. The technical offers will be examined for a period of three months.
The company to win this contract will establish two 500kV AC/DC transformer stations in Badr City and another linking station to connect to the aero line in Nabq.
Gamal Abdel Rahim, head of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission (EETC), said the operation of the electric interconnection project with Saudi Arabia will start a trial period in 2019 to exchange 3,000 MW at peak time.
The project costs about $1.6bn, with the Egyptian part of the bill amounting to $600m. The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Islamic Development Bank, and the resources of EETC, will contribute to the project’s funding along with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
