The Egyptian government is in talks with three foreign energy companies in a bid to boost the country’s electrical grid by a capacity factor of 6,750 MW, a report said.

The contracts, valued at $7.5 billion, are at various stages of completion, and will finance the construction of three combined cycle power plants, Fouad Mansour, the head of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) was quoted as saying in a Daily News Egypt report.

In the first contract, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is negotiating the legal and contractual parameters with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power to set up the Dairut power plant.

Meanwhile talks are set to start with UK-based Benchmark PLC to construct a 2,300 MW combined cycle power plan in the Tobs area of Kafr Sheikh Governorate, according to the report.

In the third contract, the ministry is in talks with Acwa Power and the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar to implement a 2,200 MW combined cycle power plant in western Damietta, the report said.

The contracts with Acwa Power are likely to be finalised in the coming weeks, Mansour said.