(AFP Photo)
The ministerial Economic Group approved initiating an Egyptian joint stock company for projects adding units of generating electricity to meet the summer demand.
The Economic Group has also left open the possibility to list it on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX).
On Monday evening, the cabinet said in a statement that the issue of initiating the company will be presented to the cabinet to look into taking the procedures needed.
“The company will own and manage these projects; their assets are from the investment cost of these units, in addition to the investments that will be pumped in these projects to turn them into combined cycle as a second phase. The property right will be a contribution from Ministry of Finance, and the loans acquired to complete the cost of these projects,” the statement said.
The Economic Group also held a meeting headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, Monday night. The meeting was attended by Hisham Ramez, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), and the Ministers of Trade, Planning, Supply, Electricity, Finance, Transport, and Investment.
According to the statement, the cost of the produced power by these projects was mentioned during the meeting. The government will work on determining a fair tariff for selling them to be able to make appropriate revenue from the capital.
The statement also mentioned the possibility of listing part of the shares of this company through public offerings on the EGX to the Egyptian people. This is in accordance with the state’s trend of allowing citizens to participate in the national projects.
Cabinet spokesman Hossam El-Kawish said the meeting discussed the efforts exerted in the electricity sector to increase the current capacities and meet the consumption increase. The steps to execute the agreement, between Siemens and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company to initiate, supply, and install three power plants with the system of Combined Cycle and a capacity of 14,400 MW, were followed up on.
The executive steps of the agreement between Siemens and the New and Renewable Energy Authority were also followed. The agreement was over the project of initiating and operating wind energy plants, with a total capacity of 2,000 MW, and initiating a factory of wind turbines blades by Siemens, with a capacity of 300 blades annually, for 100 turbines, with a capacity amounting to 340 MW annually.
Moreover, the steps of executing the project of converting the 6th of October plant, fuelled by gas, from the simple cycle system to the combined cycle system were also discussed. The project is being executed by the Italian Ansaldo Energia, expected to be finished in July 2017, with investment cost of around $242m.
