Egyptian company to launch solar power plants in few African countries

August 16, 2019: Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), an Egyptian state-owned company, will be launching solar power plants in Uganda, Congo, Tanzania, Eritrea, Somalia, and Southern Sudan, with capacities ranging from 2 to 4 MW.

The company will be responsible for the design, financing, construction, and operation of the plants. The projects will produce electricity as well as desalination plants in the targeted countries.

The initiative also benefits from a grant approved by the Egyptian government to the tune of $12 million.

Egypt has one of the world’s biggest solar parks known as the Benban solar complex with1.65GW located in the city of Aswan in southeastern Egypt. It is set to be completed by the year-end.

In a recent development, members of the World Bank Group - the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) signed an agreement to support the development of a 252MW wind farm by Lekela Power in Egypt’s Red Sea governorate.

In a statement, IFC noted that it will provide $84 million in financing while MIGA will offer $122 million in financial guarantees.

The wind farm, West Bakr Wind, located in the Gulf of Suez, is expected to produce over 1,000 gigawatt-hours per year, at a tariff well below the average cost of generation in Egypt.

The IFC and MIGA’s engagements complement the World Bank Development Policy Financing programme, a new $1 billion programme signed in December 2018 to support the second generation of Egypt’s reform programme, which will focus on developing the private sector while enabling inclusive growth.