European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that the Bank along with OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Arab Bank have signed a $114 million financing package with ACWA Power for the construction of what is considered the largest private solar plant in Egypt – the Kom Ombo project. The banks are providing different shares:
This money is in addition to equity bridge loans of up to $14 million from EBRD and $33.5 million from Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).
Located less than 20 km from Africa's biggest solar park – the 1.8 GW Benban complex -, the Kom Ombo plant will add 200 MW of energy capacity, increasing the share of renewable energy in Egypt's energy mix and further promoting private-sector participation in the Egyptian power sector. Once operational, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households. The plant will also contribute to the Egyptian government's target to generate 42% of the country's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035, while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent.
Speaking about financing, EBRD President Odile Renaud Basso said: "We are very happy to team up again with ACWA Power in Egypt, after our successful partnership in Benban, to promote renewable energy in Egypt. Increasing the production of clean energy is an important step to reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. This is in line with the EBRD's strategy to become a majority green bank by 2025. This project also marks the EBRD's first co-financing project with the AfDB and the OPEC Fund in Egypt and we look forward to future joint investment opportunities for our institutions across Africa."
President and Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, Paddy Padmanathan, said: "ACWA Power is privileged and proud to lead the realisation of the Kom Ombo PV project. The financing package signed today brings us closer to not only the people and the government of Egypt, but also to our finance partners, the EBRD, AfDB, the OPEC Fund, the GCF, Arab Bank, and APICORP reflecting our shared objective of supporting the energy transition to address the threat of climate change. Kom Ombo PV is the fourth project in ACWA Power's Egyptian portfolio and the conclusion of this financing demonstrates the confidence in the Egyptian government's ambitious renewable energy plans, being implemented through private-sector participation."
Last December EBRD had announced its plans to finance the construction and operation of a 6 MW solar PV plant in Egypt. This is one of the first private-to-private (P2P) renewable energy projects in the country and a first such project that the bank said it is financing in Egypt (see EBRD Loan For B2B Solar PV Project In Egypt).
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