Egypt received the first two gas turbines for the Beni Suef power plant shipped in mid-February by German conglomerate Siemens, the country's electricity ministry announced Thursday. The two turbines are the first of a total of eight to be installed in the plant through several phases as part of a plan to establish the world's largest combined cycle plant, supplying around 21.6 million people with electricity. "This project comes as part of...Egypt's efforts to boost rising demand for electricity starting from the Suez Canal development axis, as well as the development of the poorest villages," Maximilian Egger, Chairman and Managing Director for the company's operations in Egypt, was quoted as saying in the release. The Beni Suef power plant will enter the service by the end of 2016 with 2,400 mega watts and will see 400 mega watts added through 2017 before becoming fully operational in April 2018 with the addition of the last 2,000 mega watts, according to the statement. Last year, Siemens signed an €8 billion (approximately $9 billion) deal with the Egyptian government to establish three high-efficiency natural gas power plants and wind power installations at a capacity of 16.4 gigawatts. The power plants will be located in Burullus on the north coast, the planned administrative capital east of the country and Upper Egypt's Beni Suef. Source: Ahram Online
