Egypt will begin exporting excess electricity to regional countries in 2018, said Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker. The move would be part of a wider strategy to turn Egypt into a regional energy hub for electricity and natural gas. Surplus electricity from Egypt’s power plants, especially once the three Siemens combined cycle plants become fully operational, would be exported to a number of countries, including Jordan, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, as well as some African countries, said Shaker, according to Daily News Egypt. Companies vying for the Saudi-Egyptian electricity grid interconnection project submitted their bids back in October. Talks between Jordan and Egypt to expand their interconnection project had also taken place a few months ago. The Electricity Ministry is also conducting a feasibility study on linking the electricity grids of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece — a project announced last month during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s summit with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in Nicosia.