Egypt Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has signed a contract with China’s Sinohydro to develop a 2,400MW pumped-storage hydro project in the Suez area.

Egypt’s Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker revealed on 5 March that the contracts had been signed with the Chinese company to develop the project at Jabal Ataqa under a 100 per cent concession financing agreement. The project will be the first pumped-hydro storage project in Egypt, and construction work is due to start in June.

MEED first reported that Egypt had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sinohydro in March 2015 at the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm el-Sheikh.

While the planned project will be the first pumped storage project in Egypt, hydroelectric power has long been an important element in Egypt’s electricity mix.

The Aswan high dam, built in the 1960s, has the capacity to generate 2,100MW, while two hydroelectric plants on the old Aswan dam, downstream from the high dam, provide a further 550MW in total.

The other two hydroelectric plants are at Esna (86MW) and Naga Hammadi (64MW). Construction work is under way on a new dam and hydroelectric plant at Asyut, which will generate 64MW when completed.

A pumped-storage facility works much like a conventional hydroelectric station except the same water can be used over and over again, making it a valuable method of storing energy for peak periods.