Saudi Arabia and Egypt agreed to postpone the consideration of bids on electricity lines and transmitters for the Egypt-Saudi Arabia Interconnection Project until January, Daily News Egypt reports.

Four companies submitted bids, sources in the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy told Daily News Egypt. The delay was requested by Saudi Arabia, the sources said.

The ministry has retained the services of the European consulting firm, Cesi, for consultation on technical aspects of the project, the newspaper reports.

The project will link the electricity grids of Saudi Arabia and Egypt to improve the regional electricity market. Upon completion, the two countries will have the ability to exchange up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, providing greater flexibility to respond to peak energy consumption periods.

Earlier this month, GE completed a new 1.5 GW substation in Badr City for the project, Egypt Oil & Gas reported.

The tender has previously been delayed, Daily News Egypt previously reported.