Egypt just awarded two lots of the transmission project that will let Gulf of Suez wind reach the national grid.
Korra Energi, in consortium with High Dam Electrical and Industrial Projects (HIDELECO), won Lots 1 and 3 of the EETC scheme on June 12, with a combined value above EGP 3 billion ($58 million). Lot 1 covers about 45 km and Lot 3 about 52 km, both 500 kV ultra-high-voltage overhead lines running to the Hawamdia substation in Giza Governorate. The full scheme spans roughly 350 km in eight lots, with total investment between EGP 12 billion and EGP 14 billion ($231 million to $269 million). When complete, it will allow the grid to absorb more than 2 GW of new Gulf of Suez wind.
Why it matters
Wind projects without evacuation capacity are stranded assets. The award lands six weeks after EETC opened the global tender on April 30. We read that as Egypt executing the transmission build alongside the wind build rather than after it.
What it means for MENA
The Gulf of Suez belt already holds Zafarana, Gabal El Zeit, Ras Ghareb, West Bakr, and Red Sea Wind Energy, with ACWA Power’s 1.1 GW Suez project, Ras Shokeir 900 MW, AMEA Amunet 500 MW, Scatec Shadwan 900 MW, and Infinity Ras Ghareb 200 MW under construction or in development. The Tahya Misr 4,750 MW protocol announced May 4 sits on top of that. None of it generates a megawatt-hour without the wires.
