
Shutterstock/Khaled ElAdawy
by Kudakwashe MuzoriwaEgypt has signed several multimillion-dollar energy investment accords including a $430-million deal for Texas-based Noble Energy to pump natural gas through the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s (EMG) pipeline.
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) stated that the deal will enable Noble Energy to restore the 90 km EMG Pipeline running from Israel’s coastal city of Ashkelon to Al-Arish in Egypt. The agreement will also support the transportation of three trillion cubic feet of natural gas for over 15 years.
Adam Boehler, the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, said, “This project will help the country meet the growing demand for reliable, low-cost energy in order to fuel sustained economic growth and create opportunities that have a stabilising impact in Egypt and across the region.”
Additionally, Amsterdam-based Lekela also announced the start of construction work on its West Bakr wind power plant, which will have a capacity of 250 megawatts and require a total investment of $350 million.
Chris Antonopoulos, the CEO of Lekela CEO said that Siemens Gamesa will build the West Bakr plant in the Gulf of Suez, creating an expected 550 jobs.
Egypt also signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) worth $201 million to improve the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company’s electric grid. The lender will also finance a new asphalt production unit for the Suez Oil Processing Company worth $50 million.
Similarly, the EBRD also signed further deals with Sarwa Capital Holding and state-owned Banque Misr to issue EGP 500 million ($31.13 million) in security bonds for the government’s New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA).
Reuters reported that NUCA, 51 per cent owned by the military’s engineering authority and 49 per cent by Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, is developing Egypt’s yet-unnamed new capital.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the African Export-Import Bank also made available the first $100 million tranche of a $500 million loan to boost Egypt’s trade with other African and Muslim countries.
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