RIYADH – Saudi Arabia and Egypt signed on Tuesday agreements for the Saudi-Egyptian electricity interconnection project worth $1.8 billion. The electrical interconnection aims to be a central axis in linking the two countries, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said. "This connection will enhance and enable the connection to larger areas, as it will achieve what we seek to link the Arab system with a joint collective action that affects everyone," the minister added. "The electrical interconnection will enable us to move to greater horizons, which is global connectivity with other countries in Europe and elsewhere," he highlighted. In a statement, Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) said that the electricity interconnection project included contracts with three alliances of international and local firms. The project will have a peak load of 3,000 megawatts with a 500-kilovolt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, consisting of three high-voltage power stations in East Madinah and Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, and one in Badr, East Cairo, Egypt. The utility provider said that the three stations would be connected by overhead transmission lines, stretching nearly 1,350 kilometers (km) and 22 km sea cables in the Gulf of Aqaba.
