Egypt breaks ground on 500-MW wind project

Construction work begins on a 500-MW wind project in Ras Ghareb, Egypt. Image by Egyptian Cabinet on Facebook.

Egypt-based Orascom Construction plc (EGX:ORAS), Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corp (TYO: 8015) with its group company Eurus Energy and French energy giant Engie (EPA:ENGI) have begun the construction of a 500-MW wind farm in Egypt.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Monday and was attended by Egypt's minister of electricity and renewable energy Mohamed Shaker, the Japanese and French ambassadors to Cairo as well as executives from the involved companies.

The companies signed a deal in October 2021 to build a wind park about 50 km (31.07 mi) north of Ras Ghareb, in the Red Sea Governorate. A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) is also in place.

The project involves USD 680 million (EUR 685.9m) of foreign direct investment, the Egyptian Cabinet said on Monday. The scheme is backed by a number of international banks such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Climate Fund, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as well as commercial banks.

The project will be implemented under the build-own-operate (BOO) model with construction works scheduled to be completed within 32 months. The first phase of the wind park is set to be completed within 24 months after which the facility will start feeding electricity into the power grid for a period of 25 years, the Cabinet said.

Once up and running, the wind farm is expected to produce more than 2,200 GWh of clean power annually and offset 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

(USD 1 = EUR 1.009)

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