The Egyptian-Saudi electricity linkage project’s lines and cables are set to be tendered towards the end of June by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), reported Daily News Egypt.

The EETC Chairperson, Gamal Abdel Rahim, announced that the EETC will be ready to begin receiving offers by July. He believes that this is a good opportunity for international companies to start investing in the technical and financial bids required for the project.

He also explained the reasons behind the Ministry’s earlier decision to postpone the tender, because EETC had only received two offers – from Kalpataru Power Transmissions Ltd (KPTL), that offered to establish the Gulf of Suez power cables and KIS Group, that offered to establish the Abu Qir interconnection power cables – and this would have weakened the chances for other companies to compete.

The $1.6b project is estimated to be operational in 2018. It will enable the two countries to share electric power of up to 3,000 MW and will open up new opportunities for further bilateral cooperation.