President El Sisi Meets with Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy
The following is a statement from Ittihadiya released on Sunday, 21 June 2015:
Today, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker El Marqaby. The Minister briefed the President on the amount of electricity generated in response to the needs of the Egypt’s citizens. He noted that 28,600 megawatts of electricity were generated during peak hours yesterday, while 25,700 megawatts were consumed, leading to a surplus of 2,900 megawatts.
Minister El Marqaby added that the amount of electricity generated yesterday represents a record in the history of the ministry, despite the fact that some of the power stations due to come on line, as part of the emergency plan, are still under construction. He noted that the increase in electricity generation is a result of maintenance work on existing stations that has increased their efficiency and productivity as well as new units that have come on line as part of the emergency plan which have added1,580 megawatts. Additionally, new stations that will be completed within the coming two months will add a further 2,052 megawatts of electricity.
Minister El Marqaby gave an update on the construction of three power stations that will be built by the Siemens Company. He noted that the Ministry of Electricity agreed to pay the consortium of companies working with Siemens EGP 2.8 billion, equivalent to 35 per cent of the value of the down payment amounting to 900 million Euros. He added that a total amount of EGP 11.7 billion pounds of the total cost of the project, valued at 6 billion Euros, will be paid in the local currency.
The Minister of Electricity stated that an agreement was concluded with Siemens on a timetable for the implementation of the three stations. According to the agreement, the first station will be completed in December 2016 with a capacity of 4400 megawatts, with all stations to be completed by May 2018,rendering a total capacity of 14400 Megawatts. He added that such a rate of implementation is unprecedented in terms of constructing a power generation project of this size. He noted that the project will help secure people’s energy needs now and in the future, and will also enable major investment projects that are currently being implemented in Egypt as well as those that will follow. These include the Suez Canal Area Development Project and the significant investments it will stimulate in the industrial and service sectors.