Parliament will discuss a loan agreement worth EGP 37bn for the development of electricity transmission and distribution network on Monday.
MP El-Sayed Hegazy stated that the terms, conditions, and mechanisms of the loan submitted by local banks to the Ministry of Electricity will be reviewed by the General Plenary of the House of Representatives. The draft will then be handed over to the Committee of Energy and Environment for approval.
He added that the offer and approval of the loan agreement will take three weeks, since the review includes the interest rate, the repayment years, and the financing banks.
The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will bear the repayment of the interest rate. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) will both pay the genuine value of the loan only, according to the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
A source said that the payback period of the loan will be 15 years, including a three year grace period. The loans will be allocated to implement a comprehensive plan that will span over three years, starting from 2017, to develop the networks of distribution and transmission of electricity among the republic.
The sources explained that the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr (BM) will secure two loans worth EGP37bn. NBE is set to manage the first loan, which is worth EGP19bn. This loan will be allocated to the nine electricity distribution companies across Egypt. BM will manage the second loan of EGP18bn, which will be allocated to the EETC.
The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, agreed in February to grant EEHC and EETC two loans worth EGP37bn. The Ministry of Electricity later received an official approval letter.
Nevertheless, Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker announced, in a previous statement, the features of the plan. They will develop the transmission and distribution networks to accommodate the generated energy from the Borollos, New Administrative Capital, Beni Suef, and South Helwan power plants through the establishment of new power transmission lines or consolidating lines, or constructing new transformer stations or upgrading the existing transformer stations.
