The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and Saudi Electricity Company were awarded the contracts in a ceremony attended by Egypt’s Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and his Saudi counterpart Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud witnessed in April 2016 the signing of numerous agreements, MoUs, and cooperation programs worth $590 million, according to Egypt’s international cooperation ministry.

The agreements covered various fields, including electricity and development in Sinai.

The power linkage project includes the establishment of three high-voltage substations, including the Badr station in eastern Cairo and two stations in Saudi Arabia, linked with overhead transmission lines and marine cables, the ministry said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Egypt’s Orascom Construction said its consortium with Hitachi ABB Power Grids will execute all the work in Egypt related to the project as per an agreement the consortium signed with EETC.

Orascom said the project works with the HVDC (high-voltage direct current) technology, and will provide power to over 20 million people.

Hitachi ABB said 2.3 million Saudi households will also benefit from the project.

The project also includes the establishment of a transition station in Taba, Sinai, Orascom said.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids-Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works (SSEM) consortium will execute the related work in Saudi Arabia, said Orascom.

The completion of the project’s first phase is scheduled for 2024 with a total capacity of 1.5 GW, according to the Egyptian construction company.

Saudi Electricity Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said the project involves the linkage of the region’s biggest grids and will reinforce the stability of power supply between the two countries, according to the electricity ministry’s statement.

The Saudi minister said the project will also help the two countries exchange 3 GW of electricity.

In light of the two countries’ ambitions to expand reliance on renewable energy, this linkage will constitute a safety valve for their two power grids to tackle the general unstable nature of renewable energy, the statement cited Abdulaziz bin Salman as saying.