The Egyptian government is looking to launch an electricity interconnection project with Ethiopia and Sudan through a 1,600 km transmission network, government sources tell Daily News Egypt. The Electricity Ministry had already conducted a feasibility study for the project, but it was halted due to the troubled talks over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, sources added. The presidents of the three countries agreed at a trilateral meeting last month to set up a joint investment fund to finance infrastructure projects, including renewable energy power plants and constructing road and railway lines linking the three countries. Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker had announced last month that Egypt would begin exporting excess electricity to the region in 2018. Egypt is already engaged in an interconnection project with Saudi Arabia that should see the two countries exchange up to 3 GW of electricity once it launches in 2021, as well as two others with Jordan and Libya. Cyprus and Greece are also potential markets for power exports.

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