Egypt is preparing to tender the wires to move its Gulf of Suez wind.
Cairo plans a global tender for a 390 km, 500 kV transmission line connecting wind energy facilities in the Gulf of Suez to the national grid. Asharq Business, citing unidentified sources, puts the project at EGP 12 billion, around 226 million dollars, with completion planned for mid 2027. AGBI, which reported the plan on April 30, says it will be one of the largest lines in the country. The aim is to integrate renewable projects, especially those of Scatec and Orascom Construction. Orascom, ENGIE and Aeolus announced plans in March for a 900 MW onshore wind farm near Ras Shokeir on the western coast of the Gulf of Suez. Scatec said in January it would build a 1.7 GW solar plant with 4 GWh of battery storage in Minya.
What to look for
I read this as a transmission story dressed up as a wind story. Track how quickly the tender package gets published, which international EPC contractors line up, and how the financing is structured after the 8 billion dollar outflow Moody’s says Egypt suffered because of the regional conflict. Cairo said earlier in April that it expects renewables to reach 42 percent of its generation mix by 2030, and this line is part of how it gets there.
What it means for MENA
My read is that grid build out is becoming the quiet bottleneck that decides which countries hit their wind targets. Countries that treat wires as climate infrastructure of equal weight to turbines should keep adding gigawatts through 2030. Countries that only run generation auctions risk curtailment, and investor confidence with it.
The next chapter of MENA wind will be written as much by the EPC firms stringing the lines as by the developers raising the towers. If you are tracking this transition, follow the wires.
