ACWA Power, a utility developer from Saudi Arabia with partial ownership by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, has successfully secured financial closure for a $123 million investment to advance the Kom Ombo solar project in Egypt, which boasts a capacity of 200 MW.
The Riyadh Tadawul-listed utility developer released a statement on Wednesday, highlighting that the overall project requires a total investment of $182 million, of which 68% is non-recourse to shareholders.
The limited recourse financing will be for a period of two years.
Financing institutions for this project include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), and the Arab Bank.
In an April statement, ACWA said the package would comprise loans of up to $36 million from the EBRD, $14.6 million from the OPEC Fund, $14.4 million from the AfDB, $34.5 million from the GCF, $14.8 million from the Arab Bank, and $10 million from the SEFA under the COVID-19 IPP relief program.
Situated within 20 kilometers of Africa’s largest solar park, the 1,465 MW Benban complex—also developed by ACWA Power—the Kom Ombo plant is projected to begin commercial operations in January 2024. When fully operational, this large-scale facility will provide electricity to approximately 130,000 households.
Aligned with Egypt’s ambitions, the government aims to generate 42% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035.
