Egypt plans to increase the capacity of its power grid interconnection with Libya to 2,000 MW, according to Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker.
In an interview with Daily News Egypt, the minister said that the basic capacity of the line amounted to 100 MW at a voltage of 220 kV, and the capacity was increased in January 2020 to 150 MW.
He explained that Egypt also proposed increasing the voltage of the interconnection with Libya from 220 to 500 kV to accommodate the increased capacities, as a first stage to complete the electrical linkage between North African countries in full.
Shaker added that increasing the capacity of electrical exchange with Libya requires many measures and expansions in the coming period, and that the state plans to up the Borg El-Arab Entertainment and Marsa Alam transformer stations’ voltage to 500 kV.
It is also planning to expand the Borg El-Arab – Marsa Matrouh 220-kV-line by 260 km and up the voltage to 500 kV.
Moreover, a 500-kV Marsa Matrouh-Salloum line will be constructed with a length of 200 km and the 500-kV Salloum transformer station will be expanded. Additionally, two Salloum-Tobruk lines will be constructed — one that is 220 kV and one that is 500 kV — and the 500-kV Tobruk transformer station will be expanded.
The Libyan Egyptian interconnection project starts from Wadi El-Natrun and Sixth of October, passes through Marsa Matrouh and Salloum, and end at Libya’s Tobruk.
In previous statements, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that Egyptian companies are ready to participate in the reconstruction process in Libya. He also said that he is keen to increase the amount of exchanged electricity so that Egyptian companies can work in the reconstruction without interruptions.
Libya needs more than $100bn to reconstruct destroyed cities, rehabilitate roads, and establish utilities and infrastructure — especially electricity — to bounce back from its years of instability.
Recently, many Egyptian companies participated in a conference regarding investing in Libya, which included an integrated presentation of investment opportunities in Libya as well as the relevant legislation and regulations in the presence of international banking institutions.
Among the most prominent Egyptian companies that attended the conference were the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation, ElSewedy Electric, Petrojet, the Arab Contractors, Hassan Allam, and Orascom.