Egypt's 200MW Kom Ombo solar plant receives $114m financing
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the African Development Bank, the Green Climate Fund, and Arab Bank have signed a $114 million financing package with ACWA Power for the construction of the 200MW Kom Ombo solar plant in Egypt.
The package comprises loans of up to $36 million from the EBRD, $18 million from the OPEC Fund, $17.8 million from the AfDB, $23.8 million from the GCF, and $18 million from Arab Bank. This is in addition to equity bridge loans of up to $14 million from EBRD and $33.5 million from Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).
The new Kom Ombo plant will be located less than 20km from Africa’s biggest solar park, the 1.8GW Benban complex. Once operational, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households. ACWA Power submitted the lowest tariff in what was the first solar photovoltaic tender in Egypt. Private-sector participation in the Kom Ombo project is the result of policy dialogue with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, as well as a $3.6 million technical assistance programme, co-funded by the EBRD and the GCF, to support the EETC in administering competitive renewable energy tenders.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021.
