The German tech giant Siemens is working on a war-footing to complete three power generating plants in Beni Suef, El Borolus and the new administrative capital in Egypt.
The plants will enhance Egypt’s power generation capacity by 50 percent and create more than 30,000 jobs, said Siemens officials.
Speaking at a ceremony, the officials said that when completed, the plants would add 16.4 gigawatts (GW) to Egypt’s national grid by 2020. This would boost the country’s power capacity with surplus energy.
Egypt had awarded Siemens with €8bn (QR33bn) record energy orders last year to increase the country’s power generation, making it self-sufficient to meet the growing power demands.
The Beni Suef plant will start supplying its electricity to the national grid by year-end. Upon completion, the plant will provide 4.8GW of power, enough for around 15 million Egyptians.
Demonstrating the company’s commitment to a strict implementation schedule, a ceremony was held by Siemens at the 500,000-square-metre Beni Suef site in the presence of Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Dr Mohamed Shaker.
Two of the 400 megawatt (MW) turbines and six 500 kilovolt (kV) generator transformers were placed on their foundations, marking an important milestone towards the commissioning of the plant. The plant is set to become the world’s biggest gas-fired combined-cycle power plant complex when completed.
“Today, we celebrate an important milestone in the modernization of Egypt’s energy infrastructure and I am sure that many other milestones will follow,” said Dr Mohamed Shaker.
“Egypt is undergoing economic transformation and as the country embarks on a series of ambitious infrastructure projects, efficient and reliable electricity will be essential to powering this development,” said the minister, adding that “the Beni Suef plant, alongside Siemens’ other power projects in the country, will definitely make an important contribution towards sustainable power supply in Egypt.”
Speaking about the power plant, Willi Meixner, CEO of the Siemens Division Power & Gas, said that with its local partners, Siemens would build three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants with a total capacity of 14.4 GW.
The Beni Suef power plant with total capacity of 4.4 GW will be connected to the national grid within 19 months – from signing to service – which is six months faster than the world benchmark.
“Thanks to innovative technology, our energy projects in Egypt are set to transform the power landscape – boosting power generation by 50 percent, creating thousands of jobs and resulting in $1.3bn in fuel savings annually,” Meixner added.
With the arrival of Egypt’s first H-class gas turbines, Siemens has launched its new branding campaign in Egypt and the Middle East, titled ’Ingenuity for life’, said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO of Siemens Middle East. “Today’s milestone in Beni Suef is a perfect example of what we call ingenuity for life. With our engineering expertise, our power of innovation and local partners, we create long-term value and jobs for the people of Egypt – and beyond”, explained Siersdorfer.
In addition to the gas-fired plants, the German company will also build 12 wind farms in the Gulf of Suez and West Nile regions. About 600 turbines will be erected, with an installed capacity of 2GW.
The Peninsula
22 May
