Saudi Arabia, Iraq ink electricity interconnection deal
RIYADH, July 17, 2022
Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed an electricity interconnection agreement between the two countries implementing the memorandum of understanding signed at the beginning of 2022.
The electrical interconnection, running 435 km long, will link Arar in northern Saudi Arabia to Yusufiya near Baghdad with a total capacity of 1,000 MW and a voltage of 400 kilovolts, reported Saudi Gazette.
The event was attended by Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz vin Salman, who praised the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in accelerating the electricity connection with Iraq, which comes as confirmation of the continuous cooperation in all fields.
The completion of this project comes within the framework of Vision 2030 and its executive programmes, which focuses on investing in the Kingdom's strategic location, stated the report.
The project will contribute to supporting the reliability of the electrical networks in the two countries, achieving economic savings, supporting the integration of the networks into renewable energy, and achieving optimal investments in electricity generation projects, it added.
The project also constitutes a step to establish a regional market for electricity trade and support the two countries' participation.
This is in addition, the Gulf Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) signed the contract between its network and the electricity grid of southern Iraq on the sidelines of the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The contract includes the authority's construction of lines from its substation in Kuwait to the Al-Faw station in southern Iraq to supply it with about 500 megawatts of energy from the Gulf countries.
Construction work will take about 24 months with a total transmission capacity of 1,800 megawatts.
