The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) signed an agreement to purchase the power produced from a 250MW wind power farm, to be implemented by Lekela Power next month.
Sources familiar with the deal told Daily News Egypt that Lekela Power agreed with three European banking institutions to finance the project with $245m, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will fund the project with $82m, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is contributing with $81m, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will provide $82m, for the first time in Egypt.
The source said that the company will sign the final agreement with the banks after the Christmas holidays. The cost of setting up the wind station is $370m.
The sources added that after the agreement, the company will have three to five months to conclude its financial closure.
The company is preparing to start the project after it obtained the site where the wind station will be located, west of the Gulf of Suez.
According to the agreement, the company will sell energy at 3.82 cents under the same conditions included in its contract with Orascom, which operates a 250MW wind farm.
The project is part of the government’s plan for the implementation of the build, own, operate (BOO) energy projects, located 30km northwest of Ras Gharib. The project’s site benefits from strong wind sources, providing high capacity factors, and allows the wind station to sell energy at a competitive price.
Lekela Power was founded by several shareholders, including Actis with 60%, and 40% for a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power, which includes investors such as the IFC, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
