Egypt is to start the first phase of the electricity interconnection project with Sudan with a capacity of 300 MW in December. Sources at the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) told Daily News Egypt that the agreement was signed with Larsen & Toubro to establish the lines in Egypt at a cost of EGP 450m, which is part of the EGP 650m total cost of the project. Sudan will bear the cost of implementing the lines in its territory. The sources indicated that the interconnection line starts in the first phase of the Toshka 2 transformer station, heading to the 220 kV transformer station in Arqan, and up to 500 kV in the second phase. Moreover, the sources said that the project of electricity interconnection with Sudan is part of Egypt's plan to become a regional energy centre and exchange electricity with Arab, African, and European countries after a surplus in production of up to 15,000 MW. The Egyptian government is seeking to complete the electricity linkage project with Sudan as soon as possible, as Egypt is keen to support the countries of Africa and the Nile Basin to meet their electricity needs. Gamal Abdel Rahim, EETC head, said that they are coordinating with Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Greece to implement electricity linking projects with Egypt, as part of Egypt's strategic vision to be a regional hub for energy exchange. He pointed out that Egypt has all the potential to implement the projects of electric connection with the Arab and European countries, and it seeks to take advantage of surplus production achieved locally and exported abroad. He pointed out that the electrical connection with Sudan will allow Egypt to connect with the rest of Africa and provide them with the electricity they need, and the service that will reach Sudan will be of the highest level and the best quality, in accordance with international standards, because it represents the reputation of Egypt.
