Cairo – Egypt’s cabinet has approved two conditional contracts with Chinese firms to produce electricity from coal-fired plants with total capacity of over 4000 megawatts, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said on Wednesday.

China’s Dongfang Electric Corporation plans to build capacity plant of 1,980 megawatts while Shanghi Electric submitted an offer to construct four plants with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts, Shaker said.

Egypt has been facing a power shortage that has hampered heavy industry in recent years.

Shaker said in December that his country expects to add 2,500-3,000 megawatts of electricity generating capacity this year.

Egypt began renting two floating liquefied natural gas storage and regasification units (FSRUs) last year that allow it to import gas for fuelling power plants.

A third FSRU is expected by the end of 2016 or early 2017.