CAIRO, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Saturday that the actual operation of the joint 220-kv electricity grid between Egypt and Sudan has started.
The grid is part of Egypt's plan to turn into a regional center for energy exchange, according to the statement.
"The construction of the grid was completed in April 2019 and its length is about 100 km in the Egyptian side and 70 km in the Sudanese side," said the Egyptian cabinet.
It noted that the grid operation is the first stage of electric interconnection with Sudan through which Egypt seeks to provide the neighboring state with electric capacities up to 70 megawatts around the clock.
Ayman Hamza, spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, told Xinhua on Saturday that the second stage of electricity linkage between Egypt and Sudan will target supplying Sudan with up to 300 megawatts of electric capacity.
He added that the joint grid between Egypt and Sudan goes in line with the vision of the Egyptian political leadership to turn the country into a regional axis for energy exchange.
"There are other projects being implemented within the framework of this vision, such as joint grids with Jordan and Libya and similar other projects with Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Greece," Hamza explained.
He noted that Egypt signed last year a memorandum of understanding with the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization to make use of Egypt's strategic location in energy interconnection between African states and between Africa and other continents.
