Egypt will sign power linkage contracts with Saudi Arabia on 30 May, Chairperson of the board at the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) Sabah Mashali has said. This falls within the framework of President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi directives to turn Egypt into a regional energy hub, she said.

Mashali made the remarks on Monday in an interview with a MENA correspondent in Kuwait on the fringe of a meeting of the Arab committee of female engineers.

The Egyptian-Saudi power linkage project is one of the largest in the region, she pointed out, adding that the Egyptian electricity ministry also seeks to establish power linkage with Europe through Cyprus.

Mashali also noted that the Egyptian-Sudanese power linkage started has pilot operations, adding that this would help Sudan make up for the power shortage it is experiencing.

She added that developing the electricity sector under President El-Sisi's directions has qualified Egypt to become a regional energy hub.

After Egypt had been suffering from a 3,000 to 6,000-megawatt shortage, it has managed to achieve a surplus amounting to roughly 40 percent, she said.

She noted that Egypt's history of power linkage projects goes back about 22 years, referring to the power linkages with Jordan and Libya as one of the most successful of these kinds of projects in the Arab region.

Regarding her recently being honoured by the Kuwait Society of Engineers, she said that President El-Sisi has opened the door for Egyptian women to work and innovate.

"We are building an advanced state where there is no place for gender inequality. Proficiency is the only criteria for work assessment," she said, hailing the role played by Egyptian women in various domains.