The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi company Acwa Power to establish solar and wind plants in the West Nile area.
The signing of the agreement occurred during Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s visit to Cairo.
Executive chairman of NREA Mohamed Salah El-Sobky said a MoU will be signed with Acwa Power to establish solar and wind electricity plants in the West Nile area, in addition to three plants the company is implementing under its a renewable energy enhancement programme that will have a capacity factor of 150 MW.
Chairman of the Board at Acwa Holding Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan said his company plants to invest in either the conventional or renewable Egyptian energy sector. The Saudi company plans to invest $10bn to 12bn to provide an additional capacity factor of 10,000 MW to the Egyptian national network over the next 5 years.
While the Egyptian market does not have a well-developed renewable energy sector, Abunayyan hopes forthcoming investment will augment renewable energy’s share of the energy market to 20% by 2022 with a total capacity factor of 9,000.
Regional manager for Acwa Power Hassan Amin said the energy sector in Egypt can $30bn in investment in the next five years. However, Amin argues that investment will be contingent upon legislative reform that provides investment incentives.
The company is sponsoring the Saudi-Egyptian Business Opportunities Forum, held in Cairo on 9 April 2016, entitled The future of investment and business between Saudi Arabia and Egypt: towards a sustainable partnership strategy. Representatives from the countries will sign several trade and investment agreements during the forum.
