German multinational Siemens has won contracts worth €8bn from the Egyptian Government to build 16.4GW of natural gas-fired and wind power projects in the country.

The proposed developments are likely to boost Egypt’s power generation capacity by more than 50% to meet its rising demands.

The German firm will work with Egyptian partners Elsewedy Electric and Orascom Construction to construct three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants (CCPP) on a turnkey basis, with a total combined capacity of 14.4GW.

Each of these projects, planned to be built in Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital, will have a generation capacity of 4.8GW and will be powered by eight Siemens H-Class gas turbines.

The remaining portion of the proposed capacity will be commissioned in 38 months after Siemens closes financing and receive payments for the project in advance.

Siemens will also be responsible for the development of 12 wind projects in the Gulf of Suez and West Nile areas. The wind projects will be equipped with 600 turbines offering a combined capacity of 2GW renewable power.

The German major will also build and commission a rotor blade manufacturing facility in Ain Soukhna region by the second half of 2017.

Siemens president and CEO Joe Kaeser said: “With these unprecedented contracts, Siemens and its partners are supporting Egypt’s economic development by using highly efficient natural gas and renewable technologies to create an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy mix for the country’s future.”