In what is its single largest order ever, Siemens has signed contracts worth EUR 8 billion to supply wind power plants and natural gas-fired power plants to Egypt.
According to Siemens, the 16.4 GW contract will boost Egypt's power generation capacity by more than 50% compared to the currently installed base, while supporting the country's growing demand for power.
Per the contract, Siemens will deliver up to 12 wind farms in the Gulf of Suez and West Nile areas, comprising around 600 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 2 GW. The company will build a rotor blade manufacturing facility in Egypt's Ain Soukhna region – which will provide training and employment for up to 1,000 people. The facility is scheduled to go into operation in the second half of 2017.
Siemens will supply, on a turnkey basis, three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants, each with a capacity of 4.8 GW, for a total combined capacity of 14.4 GW. Each of the three power plants – Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital – will be powered by eight Siemens H-Class gas turbines. Local Egyptian partners Elsewedy Electric and Orascom Construction will assist the manufacturer.
The plants will add power to the grid in stages. Plans call for an initial 4.4 GW to go online before summer 2017 and the full 14.4 GW to become available 38 months after the financing has closed and advance payments have been received. Once completed, the three power plants will be the largest in the world.
Siemens has been doing business in Egypt since 1859 and has maintained a continuous presence in the country since opening its first office in Cairo in 1901.
