Egypt to increase electricity supply to Jordan

Under an agreement signed, Egypt will increase its supply of electricity to Jordan for three years as part of the two countries' joint project launched in 1998 to link their power grids and, consequently, exchange electricity.
"We have agreed with our Egyptian counterparts on the quantities of the extra electricity Egypt will provide to Jordan and under which prices," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Mohammad Batayneh said.

Batayneh and Egyptian Minister of Energy and Electricity Hassan Yunis have also discussed the terms each country should abide by to exchange electricity. The electric link-up project between Jordan and Egypt is part of a larger one linking the electric networks in several countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Syria, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia are scheduled to be linked with the network next year. After that, the network will extend to include Morocco and Spain before it goes to other European countries. Power interconnection would allow for cost reduction and higher efficiency in performance, as it turns into what is known as "economies of scale." In their talks, Batayneh and Yunis agreed to establish a centre in Egypt to oversee the connection between the concerned countries.

In addition, both ministers discussed implementing joint projects on renewable sources of energy as well as rationing of electricity. Future collaboration in atomic energy and exchanging expertise in other energy fields were also discussed.
In 1999, His Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak launched the multimillion Jordan-Egypt interconnection project which links the southern Governorate of Aqaba with the Egyptian city of Taba. Since then, the two countries have opened the power lines for transfers in either direction, using tariff calculations based on international fuel prices and daily exchange periods.

Meanwhile, sources at the Ministry of Energy told that the Jordanian and Egyptian officials will soon meet to follow up on a joint project forconstructing a gas pipeline linking Jordan and Egypt before it goes to other countries in the region. Through a maritime pipeline linking Taba on the Egyptian side with Jordan's sole sea outlet of Aqaba, gas is scheduled to be delivered to Jordan in 2003.
From there, the pipeline will stretch to central and northern parts of the Kingdom before it goes to Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey and other countries in Europe. The proven gas reserves in Egypt is estimated at more than 56 tcf.