Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) announced Wednesday that it is set to sign a second loan agreement, worth KD 35 million (equaling USD 112 million), with the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) to contribute to financing the Gulf electrical interconnection expansion project, and the electrical interconnection grid of southern Iraq.

The signing ceremony is scheduled to take place in presence and participation of His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Directors of KFAED Mr. Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GCCIA His Excellency Ahmed bin Ali Al-Ebrahim, the Fund confirmed in a statement.

The project enjoys significant technical and economic benefits as it would boost the capacity supporting the local electrical grid to about 2,500 megawatts to accommodate the national grid’s needs, including the needs of Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) of electrical power, the statement said, noting this would bolster the reliability of the country's electrical grid and improve its operational efficiency.

The project also aims to boost the national electrical grids of GCC-member states, strengthen its reliability to ensure the sustainability of electrical power at all time, and accommodate part of the demand on electrical power, in addition to improving the stability and performance of the grid in the southern region of Iraq, noted KFAED.

Moreover, the project would contribute to achieving a set of sustainable development goals, including good health, well-being, quality education, providing clean energy at affordable prices, decent work creation, economic growth, development of the industry in terms of innovation and infrastructure, and providing sustainability to cities and local communities, and strengthen partnerships.

It is worth to mention that the project has reached 75 percent of completion last May, and is expected to be completed next December.