Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") announces today that it has received an order from Egyptian Electricity Holding Company and North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company--companies under the umbrella of Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy--to undertake an electricity distribution system improvement project jointly with Elsewedy Electric S.A.E., a major electrical equipment manufacturer in Egypt. Worth approximately 10 billion yen, this project will be funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan from the Government of Japan via the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The system is expected to commence operation in mid-2023.

To meet the demand for electricity which is increasing with economic growth in recent year, Egypt strengthened its power generation capacity from 35 GW to 58 GW in these four years. At the same time, there is pressing need to reinforce power transmission and distribution facilities to supply electricity stably given the vigorous demand for electricity, and energy efficiency through the renewal and upgrading of electricity distribution management systems is required.

This project will work on the distribution system in the area under the purview of North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company. As the main facility Toyota Tsusho plans to introduce the advanced distribution management system offered by Hitachi ABB Power Grids. In addition, existing power distribution facilities which have aged will be renewed, and approximately 500,000 units of electricity meters will be replaced with smart meters. This will allow remote control and monitoring. The project is expected to mitigate large-scale power outages and reduce electricity distribution loss including loss arising from electricity theft, and will contribute toward making the supply of electricity stable and efficient.

Toyota Tsusho views Egypt as one of its important markets. Going forward, the company intends to proactively engage in the establishment of the country’s infrastructure and contribute to its economic development.

Ever since the previous Tomen Corporation—before the merger into Toyota Tsusho—started importing cotton from Egypt in 1922, the company has undertaken various businesses in Egypt for close to 100 years. Specifically, in the field of electricity, starting with the project to deliver power station equipment in 1983, Toyota Tsusho has been involved in electricity projects exceeding 280 billion yen in worth. This is the largest amount for a Japanese company. In recent years, to meet Egypt’s shift toward renewable energy, Toyota Tsusho commenced commercial operation of a 262.5 MW wind power plant in October 2019.