Egypt’s Minister of Electricity, Mohamed Shaker, affirmed the immediate work to implement everything related to the electricity sector from the agreements signed between Egypt and Libya.
Shaker said that the electricity sector is ready to help Libya rebuild and rehabilitate its electrical network. He stressed the Egyptian companies’ readiness to resume their previous work immediately in case of the security conditions improved.
He added that the Egyptian companies will return to complete their previous work at the times determined by the Libyan side.
He referred to the Egyptian efforts to find urgent and quick solutions to the electrical problems in Libya. He also noted that this will be done through a number of solutions.
These solutions include installing quick generating units in places that suffer from a shortage of electricity capabilities. The units can be transferred from the Egyptian national grid in record time.
He explained that they will be installed and operated to ensure that the electricity requirements of the Libyan people are met.
The Minister highlighted the existing exchange in electricity between the two countries. Egypt supplies Libya with quantities of electricity according to the maximum capacity of the current interconnection lines.
Shaker noted that there are studies and discussions to raise the capacity of the interconnection lines. This will allow Egypt to export large quantities of electricity available in the Egyptian network to serve development purposes in Libya.
He added that this could be achieved in a short period due to the availability of connection lines, their paths and all network components.
Last week, Libya’s Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Salama Al-Ghwail, said that a number of companies in Egypt have signed contracts for electricity projects worth $1.5-2 billion dollars in Libya.
In press statements, Al-Ghwail stated that Egyptian companies are expected to acquire between 60-70% of the reconstruction projects in Libya. He pointed out that $110 billion will be spent by the Libyan government over the next ten years to reconstruct the country after the civil war.
The Minister, however, noted that these plans remain stalled until the general budget is approved by the Parliament, and political consensus is achieved among all parties.