Siemens said the company, along with consortium partners Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, has completed the world’s largest combined cycle power plant project in Egypt in collaboration with Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.

The parties celebrated the combined cycle plant commissioning and the start of operations at the Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital power plants.

The stations will add a total of 14.4 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity to Egypt’s national grid, enough power to supply up to 40 million people with reliable electricity, said the statement from Siemens.

A single combined cycle power plant block with a capacity of 1,200 MW typically takes approximately 30 months for construction, it added.

For the Egypt Megaproject, Siemens in parallel built 12 of these blocks in record time and connected them to the grid. Now, each of the three 4.8 GW-power plants has become the largest gas-fired combined cycle plant ever built and operated in the world.

"The completion of the power plants is a significant milestone in the government’s strategy to modernise energy infrastructure in Egypt to drive industrial growth and economic progress," remarked Dr Mohamed Shaker, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy.

"This is also why the plants were built in select locations across the country to serve the growing demand for electricity among households, businesses and industries. This new power infrastructure will serve as the backbone for economic prosperity in Egypt for years to come," he stated.

With this milestone Egypt, Siemens and the company’s consortium partners have set a new world record for execution of modern, fast-track power projects, delivering 14.4 GW of power in only 27.5 months, he added.

According to him, the power plants will not only deliver more electricity to more homes, located in Upper Egypt and Delta Nile and Greater Cairo area, but also support the country’s focus on industrialization by providing reliable power supply to energy-intensive industries.

"For example, the Burullus plant is expected to feed power to cement, oil and gas and petrochemical facilities as well as ongoing infrastructure development projects. The New Capital plant will energise Cairo’s new administrative capital, expected to be home to five million Egyptians, as well as the strategic New Suez Canal Development Zone, while the Beni Suef plant will service homes, businesses and industries in Upper Egypt area," stated the minister.

Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser said: "The record-breaking completion of our Megaproject in Egypt will not only transform the power landscape in Egypt, but also serve as a blueprint for building up power infrastructure in the Middle East and all over the world."

"This megaproject is also setting the benchmark for trustful and reliable cooperation with our customer and our partners. The leadership of President Al Sisi and his team, in this project, has been remarkable. We look forward to applying this unique performance model also to other countries in their efforts towards reliable, affordable and sustainable power systems," remarked Kaeser.

Each of the three power plants are powered by eight SGT5-8000 H-class gas turbines, four steam turbines, 12 generators, eight Siemens heat recovery steam generators, 12 transformers as well as a 500-kV gas-insulated switchgear, he explained.

"To improve the resilience of Egypt’s power grid, Siemens has successfully energized six substations that will transmit electricity generated by the new power plants," noted Kaeser.

The company has also provided training to 600 Egyptian engineers and technicians, who will be responsible for operating and maintaining the plants, helping to expand skills and knowledge of the local workforce, he added.

Karim Amin, the global head of sales, power and gas division, Siemens, said: "Today, we are proud that Siemens technology will generate power at the three combined cycle plants, reaching a total net efficiency of over 61 percent, ensuring the power generated is reliable and benefits millions of Egyptians."

"Our efficient H class gas turbine technology will also help the country save over $1 billion in annual fuel costs through better fuel utilisation," he added.-TradeArabia News Service