Egypt raised a $170 million loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to help it build a 750 MW power plant north of Cairo, Reuters quoted an official at the Ministry of Electricity and Energy as saying.
Egypt, which now has about 25,000 MW of electricity capacity, plans to add another 9,200 MW by 2012.
It intends to spend $100-120 billion to triple capacity by 2027.
“The loan reflects investor trust in the performance of the sector,” Aktham Abul Ela told Reuters, adding that the electricity sector had attracted LE 12 billion under its 2007-2012 five-year plan.
The plant, in Benha 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Cairo, is scheduled to come on stream in August 2012, Abul Ela said.
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has already lent Egypt $100 million loan to build a 1,300 MW plant, in the Red Sea coastal town of Ain Sokhna east of Cairo.
