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. A single combined cycle power plant block with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts typically takes approximately 30 months for construction.  For the Egypt Megaproject Siemens in parallel built twelve 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 modernize energy infrastructure in Egypt to drive industrial growth and economic progress,” said 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.”

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

“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.”

Each of the three power plants are powered by eight SGT5-8000 H-class gas turbines, 4 steam turbines, 12 generators, 8 Siemens heat recovery steam generators, 12 transformers as well as a 500-kilovolt gas-insulated switchgear. 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. 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.