Kingdom, Egypt to be linked by electric grid

The blueprint of a project to link the Kingdom and Egypt with an electric power grid is in its final stages and the project may be offered for bidding by early next year, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Water and Electricity Saleh Al-Awaji has said.

"The electricity link between the two countries may be realized in the next three years after the start of the execution work," he added.

Al-Awaji was talking to newsmen after opening the "Electricity and Energy Exhibition" here on Tuesday. The exhibition, jointly organized by the Dhahran International Exhibitions Company and the Saudi National Electricity Company, will end on Thursday.

"The project to link the two countries with electric grid has been based on thorough studies," he said.

Al-Awaji said the peak of the need for power in the Kingdom is usually between 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. while in Egypt it is between 6-10 p.m. "Therefore the Kingdom can import electricity from Egypt during the day time and re-export it in the evening," he said.