The Ministry of Electricity has allocated EGP 1.8bn to upgrade power networks in Sinai and Suez Canal regions and Sharqeya governorate as part of its budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2020/21.
Mohamed El-Sayed, head of the Canal Company for Electricity Distribution (CCED), said the upgrade plan in FY 2021 also would include setting up four electricity controls in Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Ismailia, and the 10th of Ramadan cities. The new controls would offer better network management, reduce faults, and facilitate replacement and renewal operations.
He pointed out that the company has completed the establishment of an integrated electricity network in Sinai that covers more than 98% of the region’s residents and supplies power to water and sewage stations in Arish city, North Sinai.
El-Sayed added that several major electricity projects have been established to meet development projects’ needs of power in Sinai, the Red Sea, and Sharqeya. These projects comprise 14 distributors and 421 km long transmission cables serving 16 million residents in the aforementioned regions which represent 30% of Egypt’s total area.
He highlighted other projects in the Red Sea including the establishment of two mobile stations in Marsa Alam and Shalatin cities with a capacity of 5.2MW per unit and total investments of EGP 85m. In addition, the company has set up a 20 km long electrical transmission line between Halayeb and Ras Darba cities at a cost of EGP 18m. Qusair city was also linked to the national grid at a cost of EGP 32m.
The CCED has also built the Ras Ghareb – Hurghada – Safaga transmission line and is constructing another 220 kV line between Qusair and Barnis through Marsa Alam to supply power to tourist facilities in the region at a cost of EGP 40m.