The Gulf Cooperation Council Sunday launched the first phase of the GCC states power linkup at a cost of SR1.2 billion. The GCC Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs, Muhammad Al-Mazro'ee, said the first phase linking Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, has had undergone its trial runs and was now ready to exchange power. “The second phase of the network will link the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and the third phase will see the linkup of the two prior phases,” Al-Mazro'ee said. The Director of the GGC secretariat's Electricity and Water Administration, Najeeb Al-Jame'a, said the move would supply 5,000 megawatts of power, equaling 50 percent of the required standby reserve energy of each country. “The project will also help strengthen national networks, generating a power market and encouraging national industries in cables, towers and networks,” Al-Jame'a said. The GCC Electricity Linkage Board has capital of $1,100 million, with the Kingdom's contribution totaling $347,600 million, or 31.6 percent.
