ACWA POWER SIGNS FINAL PROJECT AGREEMENTS ON 200MW KOM OMBO PV PLANT
ACWA POWER SIGNS FINAL PROJECT AGREEMENTS ON 200MW KOM OMBO PV PLANT WITH EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT
- Financial closure and ground-breaking expected in Q3 2021
- Commercial operations to commence in Q3 2022
Cairo, Egypt: ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor and operator of power generation and desalinated water plants in 13 markets, has finalised the project agreements for the 200MW Kom Ombo PV plant in Egypt.
The signing of the 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), Network Connection Contract and Usufruct Agreement was conducted via a virtual ceremony held with senior government officials and representatives from the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC); The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), and ACWA Power.
The agreements were signed by Eng. Sabah Mashaly, Chairman of EETC; Dr. Mohamed Al-KHayat, Chairman of NREA; Rajit Nanda, Chief Portfolio Management Officer and acting CIO of ACWA Power; and Eng. Hassan Amin, Country Development Director- Egypt, ACWA Power.
Financial closure of Kom Ombo PV is scheduled for the third quarter of 2021, following the obtainment of a USD 40 million senior debt financing and a USD 14 million equity bridge loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in addition to a USD 27.2 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance the construction, development and design of the 200 MW solar PV project.
The Government Guarantee for the project was signed in January 2021 between ACWA Power and Mohamed Maait, Egypt’s Minister of Finance. Kom Ombo PV is part of ACWA Power’s established energy portfolio and proven track record in Egypt, which currently includes three solar PV projects located in the Aswan province (Benban 1, Benban 2 and Benban 3) with an aggregate capacity of 120 MW, as well as the 2250MW Dairut-Luxor CCGT IPP in the Luxor Governorate.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021 and upon completion, Kom Ombo PV will cater to the power needs of 130,000 households and offset 336,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Kom Ombo PV will be one of the largest privately developed utility scale solar plants in Egypt and will support the country in increasing its renewable energy capacity in line with the national targets to generate 22% of Egypt’s power from renewables by 2022 and 42% by 2035.
