The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) plans to repay, in December, the first batch of the loans it obtained from German banks to fund establishing three Siemens electricity plants.
Sources at the company told Daily News Egypt that German banks have handled managing the funding of the electricity plants in Beni Suef, Borollos, and the New Administrative Capital, worth €4.1bn, which is equivalent to 85% of the total funding.
The sources said that the repayment of the first instalment of the loan will start after commercial operation of all the steam and gas units at the end of the year. The batch to be paid will range from €100m to €150m.
The sources explained that the amounts will be paid from the EEHC’s resources, including electricity consumption revenues collected by the distribution companies across the country.
According to the agreement with KfW Development Bank, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC, the EEHC will repay the value of the loans over a period of 12 years, including a three-year grace period. The insurance cost on the loan is estimated to be 14%.
The sources revealed that the EEHC approved all the bills submitted to the German company, worth over 87% of the total contracted cost.
The EEHC contracted with German company Siemens in 2015 to establish three electricity plants that add 14.4 GW to the national electricity grid at three sites, Beni Suef, Borollos, and the New Administrative Capital.
The sources explained that the rates of implementing the three plants reached 99%, and the total added capacity to the grid is estimated to be 14,000 MW, including 10 units at the Beni Suef plant with a 4,000-MW capacity, nine units at the New Administrative Capital with a 5,600-MW capacity, and 10 units at Borollos with a 4,000-MW capacity.
The sources said that the German company is continuing work on the units after undergoing performance tests and operating tests. The officials of the company follow up on the developments of the implementation on a daily basis. The work schedule was shortened based on a request by the minister of electricity.
