German company Siemens is set to add 800 MW of electricity to the national grid through the Borollos and New Administrative Capital power plants within 10 days. A source at the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) said that Siemens is running the tests for the production units of the New Administrative Capital plant to produce 400 MW to be linked on Thursday. An additional 400 MW will also be generated next week from the Borollos power plant. The source said that Siemens has added 3,200 MW of electricity to the national grid up until now. "The company linked six production units of the Beni Suef plant, producing 2,400 MW, 400 MW from the Borollos power plant, and 400 MW from the New Administrative Capital power plant, to the national grid," he explained. He pointed out that adding 800 MW will boost the total capacity of power generated from Siemens projects to 4,000 MW. The source explained that the location of the Borollos station was challenging for the establishment and required placing poles 30 metres beneath the surface, noting that the three units usually require 18 months to become operative, but Siemens is set to complete all works in three weeks only. Furthermore, he pointed out that Siemens will begin commercial generation in March. The EEHC had 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. Siemens is implementing the three projects through the EBC+Finance scheme, while the EEHC will repay the loan over several years. Three German banks, KfW Development Bank, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank secured funding for Siemens projects in Egypt amounting to €4.1bn of a total contract value of €6bn. Arab banks secured the remaining funding in Egyptian pounds to pay for the Egyptian companies participating in constructions, including Elsewedy Electric and Orascom.
