Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) for the construction of a coal-powered electricity station in Egypt.
The agreement is complementary to a memorandum of understanding signed with the Egyptian government in November 2014.
The deal, targeting a 3,000-megawatt coal-fired station on the Red Sea coast, is predicted to cost nearly US$3 billion in the first stage of the project.
The undertaking will be financed by a OCI-IPIC consortium side by side with loans from Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council, international institutions and export guarantee agencies.
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi will act as a main financial adviser and supporter of the project, among other banks which include the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Banque Misr, the Commercial International Bank (CIB), the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Qatar National Bank (QNB).
OCI Chairman Nassef Sawiris said the timing of the agreement is a testimony to the growth of major future projects in Egypt which were presented during the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC). He added that his company intends to carry out further “major projects, not only in the energy field, but also in infrastructure and industry”.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
