The unstable political situation in Sudan halted the country's power interconnection project with Egypt, Sabah Mohammed Mashaly, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Egyptian Electricity and Transmission Company (EETC), affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy. "We are waiting for the appointment of a new government in Sudan to resume the coordination over implementing the project," Mashaly told the reporters on Monday, following her participation in an event organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), entitled "Women in Green Energy: enhancing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities". The EETC finalised about 70% of the targeted investments for the fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, Mashaly mentioned, noting that the company's goal is to implement projects with investments of EGP 20bn over the current FY that ends on 30 June. "We have already received several funds from international financial institutions, including the EBRD and the World Bank, for adding capacities to the electricity national grid," she mentioned, denying her company's intention to negotiate with the aforementioned financial institution on new funds shortly. In February, Siemens announced the completion of a 400MW extension to the Toshka substation in Egypt, which is located near the Egyptian-Sudanese borders, about 1,300 km away from Cairo. The completion of the project paves the way for the realisation of the $60-70bn Egypt-Sudan interconnection project, on which phase one trial operation is set to begin shortly, Siemens added.
