President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and German chancellor Angela Merkel are set to inaugurate the first phase of power plants implemented by Siemens in Beni Suef, Borollos, and the New Administrative Capital at the end of the current week. Ulrike Demmer, a German deputy government spokesperson, said that Merkel will arrive in Cairo on Thursday for an official two-day visit, noting that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will be at the airport to welcome her. The president's adviser on national projects, Ibrahim Mehleb, and Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker have inspected the New Administrative Capital power plant on Sunday to review the final procedures before the inauguration. Government sources said that the first phase of the three plants will add 4,800MW, including 2,400MW from six units from the Beni Suef plant, 1,600MW from six units in Borollos, and 800MW from two units at the New Administrative Capital power plant. The sources noted that all units linked to the national grid are operating efficiently, adding that they each achieved an additional output of 8MW. The sources pointed out that Siemens committed itself to a timetable for the implementation of the three projects, and will link the production before the schedule. The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) signed contracts with Siemens last year to implement three combined-cycle power plants with a total capacity of 14,400MW. The three power plants are in Borollos, Beni Suef, and the New Administrative Capital. Siemens is implementing the three projects on the Egyptian Banks Company+Finance scheme, while EEHC will repay the loan over several years. The total value of the contract stands at €6bn, and KfW Development Bank, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC 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 on the project, including Elsewedy Electric and Orascom. The cabinet had approved securing allocations to EEHC to pay for Siemens' contracts and its local partners, as well as the inflow of gas needed for production at 22m cubic metres per day for each site.
