The North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company started receiving bids for the tender to establish an electrical control centre and the supply of smart electricity metres for the company, financed by the Japan’s Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Nagy Aref, head of the North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company, informed Daily News Egypt that the two alliances that qualified for the tender requested to extend the deadline to January instead of December, which was approved.
The JICA will finance the project with a value of $104m, including the supply of 450,000 smart metres in Helmiya and Al-Matriyah districts, as well as the establishment of a control centre in the Helmiya area.
Aref added that a number of companies had asked to participate in the project, but according to the stringent requirements and standards of the JICA, the Siemens-Landis+Gyr alliance and the Toyota-ISKRA-IBB-Schneider Electric alliance have qualified.
The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) signed a loan with the Japan Cooperation Agency (JICA) worth ¥10.7bn to finance the projects in Alexandria, North Delta, and North Cairo.
The EEHC will disperse the loan on three tranches. The repayment period extends over 30 years with a grace period of 10 years and an interest of 0.01%.
Furthermore, the EEHC contracted with a global Japanese consultant in cooperation with the Modern Systems Engineering of the ministry of electricity to prepare the technical specifications and standards for the automation project of the distribution companies.
The ministry of electricity aims to rehabilitate, develop, and expand electrical networks at the level of the country within two years, in accordance with the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, so that the electricity sector can continue to supply electricity without problems.
Husseini al-Far, a member of the country’s electricity distribution sector, said that the priorities of the sector are currently implementing the plan to develop and modernise the transmission and distribution networks and the control centres needed to absorb the added capabilities of the new projects, and raise the level of service provided to the public with high efficiency.
