ACWA Power has announced the signing of a fresh $123m financing package for the 200MW Kom Ombo solar power project in Egypt with various financial organisations.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant is estimated to cost $165m. It is fully owned by ACWA Power.
According to the Saudi developer, the financing institutions providing the package are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), OPEC Fund for International Development, African Development Bank (AfDB) and its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), Arab Petroleum Investments (APICORP), Arab Bank, and Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The EBRD leads the package with a loan of up to $36m followed by a loan of $34.5m from the GCF.
The OPEC Fund, AfDB, and the Arab Bank will provide loans of up to $14.6m, $14.4m, and $14.8m, respectively.
SEFA under the Covid-19 IPP relief programme will offer a loan of $10m to the Kom Ombo project.
ACWA Power revealed that the Egyptian solar power project already has equity bridge loans of $45m from APICORP and $14m from the EBRD.
Originally, the Saudi developer signed financing documentation for the project in April 2021 with the EBRD, the GCF, the OPEC Fund, AfDB, and Arab Bank for a package of $114m.
However, the changes in global supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have altered the dynamics for building solar power plants, said ACWA Power. This led to the extension of Komombo project’s execution, which was originally slated to come online in Q3 2023.
The solar power plant is now expected to begin commercial operations in January 2024. Located less than 20km from the 1.46GW Benban solar power complex, Kom Ombo will power 130,000 homes.
ACWA Power CEO Marco Arcelli said: “The Kom Ombo solar project further demonstrates the private sector’s active involvement in Egypt’s energy transition.
“This accomplishment highlights the shared vision and purpose of various global financing institutions in achieving the Republic’s targets, which would not be possible without the trust and support of the government, the Egyptian people, and communities.”
The Saudi developer said that the Kom Ombo solar power project will contribute to the Egyptian government’s aim to see renewable energy sources making up 42% of the country’s electricity generation by 2035.
EBRD sustainable finance group managing director Nandita Parshad said: “The Kom Ombo project is the first tendered utility-scale solar project in Egypt, and one of the first to be delivered under the Energy Pillar of the Nexus Water-Food-Energy (NWFE) initiative, whereby the Egyptian authorities are committed to developing 10 GW of new renewable energy projects and decommissioning 5 GW of thermal capacity.”
