$ 40 billion needed to withstand shrortage in Arab electricity

An economic report has expected that the cost to renovate and develop the potentials of generating, transport and distribution for the sector of electricity in the Arab states until the year 2005 to reach $ 40 billion and that Arab governments to ensure part of the required investments through their general budgets and another part from paving the way for the private sector to build and operate electricity generation stations.

The report which was prepared by the Arab Monetary Fund underlined the importance of pumping these investments especially amid the increase electricity consumption in the Arab states from 19,000 megawatt in 1980 to almost 49,000 megawatt in 1990 and to 74,000 megawatt in 1999.

The reports warned against several technical problems that electricity sector suffers in the Arab states, firstly the increasing demands for electricity as the annual average of electricity consumption increased in the Arab states during the 1990s at 5.9%. A high average in comparison with the 3% of the world average increase in this sector.