German company Siemens is set to start the trial operations of Borollos power plant on Tuesday. A source at the Ministry of Electricity said that the ministry will provide Siemens with the electric capacity to run and test the plant by connecting it with Abu Qir power plant at a capacity of 500 KV to start testing the electricity production units. The source added that a trial operation was conducted for Beni Suef power plant at the end of last month and that the plant's production units are being tested before linking it to the national electricity grid at the end of November. The operation tests of the New Administrative Capital power plant were also conducted after 500 KV was provided from El-Tebbin and Ain Sokhna plants to start the actual production from the production units in 30 days. Egyptian Electricity Holding Company signed contracts with Siemens last year to implement three combined-cycle power plants with a total capacity of 14,400 MW. The three power plants are Borollos, Beni Suef, and the New Administrative Capital. The Ministry of Electricity paid Siemens €2.1bn for the construction it carried out, and the supply of the turbines and equipment of the three aforementioned power plants. The total value of the contract stands at €6bn, and three German banks are financing the projects with €4.1bn. Arab banks are also providing the project's financing in Egyptian pounds to pay the dues of the Egyptian companies working in the project, including El Sewedy and Orascom. The Ministry of Electricity has contracted with Siemens to establish the three projects through the EBC+ Finance scheme. The company has decided to carry out the design, construction, and financing, while the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company will repay the loan over several years.
