Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece have signed a memorandum of understanding for the European-African electricity interconnection projectm with a capacity of 2,000 MW and initial investments of $4bn.
Government sources told Daily News Egypt that the Cypriot side had identified the location of the cable track, while the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) will identify the landing point of the sea cable. It was initially agreed that the cable landing point would be about 100 km from West Damietta.
The cables have a length of 1,707 km, the cost of which is high. The cable track and the landing point require security approvals, with consultations expected during the next month.
The sources pointed to the importance of extending an electrical maritime cable and its benefits to Egypt’s strategic plan for economic development and energy security. This project is one of the projects that help to connect Egypt to the European electrical network.
The Euro-Africa Company, which is responsible for implementing the project, announced on its website that the electricity connection between Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece is in the pre-operation stage and that the Egyptian government approved the track of the power cable and the landing point, along with the location of the HVDC conversion station.
“The cable will connect 2,000 MW of electricity from Egypt to Europe via Cyprus,” the company stated, noting that Egypt is turning into an energy hub for Africa and a power carrier for Europe.
It also explained that the project contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions, and provides significant social and economic benefits of up to €10bn.
Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker told Daily News Egypt that the agreement on the implementation of the electricity link project with Cyprus and Greece is underway, and economic studies are being prepared for the project and all costs, including construction, operation, maintenance, insurance, and guarantees.
Moreover, the systems, environmental bylaws, and initial funding plan are being evaluated. The implementation of the project is part of the government’s strategy to make Egypt a regional energy centre.
He stressed that Egypt has an important role in linking the networks of the Arab Mashreq and Maghreb regions and North Africa and is working with Saudi Arabia to complete the project of interconnection between them.
He pointed out that Egypt aims to complete a green energy corridor to achieve many benefits for African countries and complete its strategy to be a central hub for electrical interconnection between Europe, Arab, and African countries.
