The local ElSewedy Electric has signed two contracts worth $706m with the Egyptian Electricity & Renewable Energy Ministry to install emergency power capacity.

The contractor will install four gas turbines with a total capacity of 650MW at Al-Ataqa power plant in Suez. Another two gas turbines with a total capacity of 330MW will be installed at Mahmoudia power plant.

Germany’s Siemens and Italian firm Ansaldo Energia will supply the turbines.

The projects will use open-cycle turbines in the first phase and may be converted later to combined-cycle turbines.

The plants are due to come online in mid-2015.

Egypt faced frequent power cuts in 2014, and the government has committed to massive investments to increase capacity.

Although Egypt has a nameplate capacity of more than 30GW, ageing infrastructure and gas shortages meant that, in 2013, the country could not meet peak demand of 27GW. Peak demand is growing at more than 5 per cent a year, which means Egypt needs to increase capacity by at least 1,500MW a year.

Large nuclear, conventional and renewables projects are in the pipeline, but will take some time to be completed.

The emergency projects are intended to cover summer peaks in demand.