Two of the Chinese firms that signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Egyptian government to develop large coal-fired power plants have submitted initial studies.

Shanghai Electric and Dongfang Electric Corporation signed MoUs with Egypt Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) and the Electricity & Energy Ministry at the Egypt Economic Development conference (EEDC) held in Sharm el-Sheikh on 15 March to build major coal plants as part of the country’s efforts to boost capacity to reduce the current power shortfall during peak periods.

Shanghai Electric signed an MoU to develop a 4,640MW coal plant, which will have an estimated total value of $6.4bn, and Dongfang signed an agreement to deliver a 1,980MW plant for a total value of about $3bn. The plants are proposed to be located at a site in Hamrawein, on the Red Sea Coast.

According to sources close to the proposed schemes, Dongfang submitted an initial study for the proposed 1,980MW plant in late March and Shanghai Electric submitted the initial study for the 4,640MW plant in early April.

Progress with the planned projects will be welcomed by the international power sector, with questions remaining over Egypt’s ability to follow through with the large programme of planned power schemes required to meet the rapidly growing demand.

At the EEDC, EEHC and the Electricity & Energy Ministry signed MoUs with international companies for more than 16GW of coal-fired power plants.

The MoU for the largest planned coal plant, was signed with the UK’s Tharwa Investments. The group signed a MoU to develop the biggest single-site coal-fired plant in the world, which will have a total capacity of 6,000MW and a construction cost of $10.6bn.

On 14 March at the EEDC, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power international signed an MoU to develop $7bn of coal-fired power generation facilities in Egypt. The facilities will be built over two phases, each to produce 2,000MW, resulting in a total capacity of 4,000MW. The coal plants will be developed under an independent power project (IPP) model.

The project is currently in the feasibility stage, and it is hoped studies will be completed by the end of 2015.