Egypt to strengthen Jordan power link to up to three gigawatts

Egypt is working on strengthening its electricity interconnector with Jordan to handle up to three gigawatts, with plans to extend a connection to Iraq, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday.

The current capacity of the interconnector between Egypt and Jordan stands at 550 megawatts.

A second interconnector between Jordan and Iraq would allow some of Egypt’s electricity to reach Iraq, with the first phase of the second power link expected to be completed in June, said Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was visiting Cairo.

Iraq, which also has electricity supply agreements with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, suffers from an electricity shortage that worsens during the hot summer months.

Egypt has a power surplus and has also been looking to boost exports to countries including Sudan, Libya, and Saudi Arabia.