Jul 24, 2018

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday inaugurated energy projects across Egypt as the country pumps up its electricity production surplus after years of power cuts that peaked in 2014.

Power cuts were a key factor behind massive street protests that led to the July 2013 ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military, headed at the time by Sisi.

Sisi, elected president a year later, vowed to end power shortages especially after blackouts in the summer of 2014, amid high demand for cooling in the sweltering heat.

"There are issues in Egypt that needed to be fixed a long time ago, because of circumstances in Egypt, and not due to faults in (previous) rulers," Sisi said at the inauguration, broadcast live on state television.

The new projects include three stations that will produce 14,400 megawatts of electricity, Mohamed Erfan, head of Egypt's Administrative Control Authority, said at the ceremony.