Wartsila Lands Egyptian Power Plant Contract

Finnish engineering company Wartsila is to supply additional capacity for an existing power plant in Borg El Arab, an industrial city some 45 km southwest of Alexandria, Egypt, it said July 29. It won the contract in June.

The plant is owned and operated by the National Electricity Technology company, Kahraba, a part of the Egypt Kuwait Holdings (EKH) Group. Kahraba is one of the largest private electricity service providers in Egypt.

The engineering and equipment contract is for two 34SG engines running on natural gas. The engines will have a combined output of 19 MW and will increase the plant’s capacity by two thirds, it said. The existing plant runs on three engines from the same series. The engines can ramp up and down almost instantaneously. depending on supply from renewable plant or the need to cover a surge in demand.

“The local industries impose increasing demand on power capacity. The Wartsila engines will help alleviate this situation and will enable us to deliver a reliable electricity supply to our customers, thus supporting industrial growth in the area," Wartsila said.

The new equipment will be delivered to the site in January 2020, and the extended facility is expected to become operational towards the end of that year.

Egypt has one of the largest electricity grids in the African continent. In recent years, there have been significant additions of large centralised generation capacity in the Egyptian grid, and the use of renewable energy sources is growing rapidly. The government has set targets for renewables to make up 42% of the country's electricity mix by 2035, based on rapid solar and wind energy deployment.