ACWA Power’s 200MW Kom Ombo solar project obtains $123m financing package
…EBRD, OPEC Fund, AfDB, GCF, SEFA, Arab Bank and APICORP provide loans for Egyptian clean energy facility
…Project expected to reach commercial operations in January 2024
ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants worldwide, today announced that it has signed a $123 million financing package to develop the 200MW Kom Ombo project, a utility-scale solar power plant in Egypt.
Financing institutions for this project include European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), African Development Bank (AfDB), AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) and Arab Bank.
The package comprises loans of up to $ 36 million from the EBRD, $ 14.6 million from the OPEC Fund, $ 14.4 million from the AfDB, $ 34.5 million from the GCF, $14.8 million from Arab Bank and $10 million from the SEFA under the COVID-19 IPP relief programme. The project already has equity bridge loans of $14 million from the EBRD and $45 million from the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).
“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,” he added.
The Kom Ombo plant will be located less than 20 kilometres from Africa’s biggest solar park, the 1,465MW Benban complex — another ACWA Power development — and is expected to be commercially operational in January 2024. Once fully functional, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households.
While the financing documentation was originally signed in April 2021 with the EBRD, the OPEC Fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Arab Bank, the dynamics in global supply chains due to COVID-19 altered the dynamics for the development of solar plants. This resulted in the extension for Kom Ombo’s project execution.
Arcelli emphasised that, “The new financing package is a result of the confidence that major institutions have in our proven track record of developing large-scale projects. With this funding, we are fully committed to working collaboratively with our partners in the public and private sectors to ensure that this project delivers a strong and sustainable outcome for all involved.”
Private-sector participation in the Kom Ombo project is the result of successful policy dialogue with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), as well as a $3.6million technical assistance programme, co-funded by the EBRD and the GCF, to support the EETC in administering competitive renewable energy tenders.
In addition, the project has also benefitted from broader energy-sector reforms supported by the AfDB in recent years to scale up the involvement of the private sector.
