The surveying will be completed in 20 days and the required consultancy services, designing and agreements to implement the grid will also be completed soon, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. “It is hoped that international tenders for the implementation of the project will be invited early next year,” Yunus said.

The minister added the survey of 1,300 km of land to be used in the project had been completed and verified by both parties. Technical studies for the project have also been prepared.

He said the project was undertaken after feasibility studies confirmed the advantages of the power link between the two countries particularly because the peak hours of power consumption in the two countries varied.

While the largest amount of consumption occurs at the noon hours in the Kingdom, in Egypt the consumption peaked in the evening hours. This variation will enable the exchange of power between the two countries throughout the day, he said.

The capacity of the power lines between the two countries is estimated at 3,000 megawatts.

The capacity of the power lines between the two countries is estimated at 3,000 megawatts.