Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker is expected to open the first phase of the electricity interconnection project with Sudan this month, a high-profile government source told Daily News Egypt on Tuesday.
Egypt has completed all procedures regarding the electricity interconnection with Sudan through establishing several infrastructure projects, building power towers, and conducting operation tests, along with technical discussions with the Sudanese side.
The initial capacity of the project will be 50MW, and then will increase to 100MW in the second phase. The maximum capacity will be 300MW.
Regarding the payment methods for electricity, the source noted that it would be settled by the political leaderships of both countries.
Egypt’s cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad said in a previous statement that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly instructed the ministries of electricity and supply to negotiate an agreement with Sudan by which Egypt supplies its southern neighbour with electricity in exchange for crops and commodities, such as meat and soybeans.
Egypt-Sudan trade exchange reached about $364m in the first eight months of 2018, of which $222m worth Egyptian exports and $142m worth Sudanese exports.
Egypt has invested heavily in electricity production in the past four years, and it has a surplus of 2GW. The government is working on several interconnection projects with neighbouring countries to exploit that power surplus.
