A subsidiary of the National Service Authority (NSA) has offered solar energy investors in Benban, Aswan, the implementation of a double-way on the desert road for EGP 67m.
Feed-in tariff investors have signed a contract with a private company to implement the double-way on the main road in Aswan, after the General Authority for Roads refused to bear the cost.
Sources told Daily News Egypt that the Association of Solar Energy Investors in Benban has received a single offer from one the companies affiliated to the NSA, affiliated to the armed forces, to implement the double way on an area of 7.8km.
The sources explained that investors will address the companies working in the field of contracting, in order to submit their offer, especially that they are looking for the cheapest implementation cost. “The offer made by the National Company was for a value less than the previous offers, reaching up to EGP 90m, however, it included connecting internal roads to the location of the project,” the source added.
The Roads and Bridges Authority (RBA) refused to bear the cost of the project, after solar energy investors requested a modification to secure workers and cars at the location of the plants, to avoid accidents during the entry and exit of cars from and to the location.
The investors demanded the implementation of the double-way, especially that the peak time of the presence of workers and engineers at the location will be during the next three months, and they must be secured in order to avoid disasters or accidents on the roads.
The security and safety of workers and the projects are two of the most important requirements stipulated by international funding bodies, which carry out surprise meetings and inspection visits to ensure safety measures are followed.
Engineer Samy Farag, head of the implementation sector at the RBA, told DNE in a previous statement that a letter was sent to the Ministry of Electricity explaining that the Roads authority will not be bearing the cost of the double-way in Benban, and that the modification required is not on the national road plan.
He added that the authority has approved the study submitted by Aswan University to carry out a double-way to secure the cars entering the leaving the location of the project without bearing the cost. Once investors reach an agreement with the Ministry of Electricity, they will obtain licensing from the authority to execute the modification.
32 companies are implementing solar energy projects with a capacity of 1500MW within the feed-in tariff programme announced in 2014. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company purchases the energy produced from the project for about 8.4 cents for a kWh.
