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Thursday, 5 January 2023

Italy proposes a USD 2.8 bn electrical interconnection project with Egypt

Is an Egypt-Italy electricity interconnection project coming? Italy has reportedly submitted a proposal to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company to work on a joint USD 2.8 bn electricity interconnection project between the two countries with a capacity of 2.5-3 GW, Bloomberg Asharq reports, citing two unnamed government sources.

Italy is offering to do the legwork: Italy has reportedly proposed signing an MoU to begin conducting a feasibility study for the project, the costs of which the Italian side would cover. The Italian proposal also commits the country to securing funding from Italian banks and European financing agencies for the project, were it to go ahead.

SOUND SMART- We’ve built a large surplus of electricity generation capacity over the past few years — and Europe is looking for energy suppliers. Italy’s proposal comes as Europe faces an unprecedented energy crisis thanks to the loss of Russian fossil fuels. We’re well placed to help fill the gap: Egypt has already been preparing to link its electricity grids with Greece and Cyprus through a subsea cable as part of the USD 4 bn EuroAfrica Interconnector project since 2018, while the USD 1.8 bn 3 GW Egypt-Saudi electricity interconnection is set to go live in May 2025. Our grid is currently linked with Jordan, Palestine, Libya, and most recently Sudan.

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