Siemens brings online 4.8 MW for Egypt Megaproject ahead of schedule

Together with its local partners Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, the company “has made great progress” in its effort to boost Egypt's power generation capacity by 45%, with this new capacity already connected to the grid exceeding the 4.4 GW goal it had originally set, Siemens said.

The surplus capacity of 400 MW is sufficient to supply power to some one million people in Egypt, it said.

Siemens had committed to bring online an initial 4.4GW before summer 2017, with the full 14.4GW to become available 38 months after the financing has closed and advance payments have been received.

Overall, together with its local Egyptian partners, Siemens is constructing three gas-fired combined cycle power plants, each with a capacity of 4.8 GW. The project is worth altogether some $8 billion.

The three power plants – Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital – will be powered by 24 Siemens H-Class gas turbines. The scope of supply also comprises twelve steam turbines, 36 generators, 24 heat recovery steam generators and three 500 kV gas-insulated switchgear systems.

Siemens had said earlier in December it had shipped the first steam turbine for the project, which was due to arrive at Beni Suef's plant in January this year.

“We are committed to efficiently meeting Egypt's growing energy demand through balancing supply and demand, optimizing the country's natural resources like natural gas and renewable energy, as well as ensuring a competitive energy sector through technology and know-how transfer” commented Egypt's minister of electricity and renewable energy Mohamed Shaker.
"Siemens power projects will definitely make an important contribution to our power strategy” he added.

After completion in May 2018, the three power stations will be “the largest gas-fired, combined cycle power plants ever built and operated in the world” Siemens stressed.