The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that it has sanctioned a loan to support ACWA Power’s 200 MW Kom Ombo solar power project in Egypt. The bank will offer funding of $27.2 million in the form of a senior loan and the total cost of the project is $156.4 million. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Green Climate Fund Arab Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development were the key contributors.
The project is located in Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, about 800 kilometres south of Cairo. ACWA POWER secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with the government of Egypt for the power generated from the Kom Ombo plant. ACWA Power has committed to develop, finance, construct and operate the plant and the project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. The plant is also expected to curb greenhouse gas emissions by more than 7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over 25 years,
The AfDB’s support for the current project is part of its New Deal on Energy for Africa initiative which aims to achieve universal access to energy in Africa by 2025 by building a platform for public-private partnerships to increase the financing of renewable energy projects.
In February 2021, AfDB provided a $965,000 grant to Morocco’s Société d’Ingénierie Energétiqueto support its transition into the first Super Energy Service Company initiative in Africa.