Egypt aims to build solar and wind power plants in the next three years with combined capacity of 4,300 megawatts, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told an energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The plan is part of Egypt's strategy for renewable energy to contribute to more than 20 percent of its energy mix by 2020, he added.
"Egypt's strategy includes transforming Egypt into a central trading hub for energy to make use of its geographical situation centred between the major producers and consumers of energy, and the availability of infrastructure such as the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline," Sisi said.
He did not specify how the solar and wind projects might be financed, but foreign aid from the Gulf and elsewhere may be involved.
United Arab Emirates-based Access Power, a private firm, is leading a consortium in bidding to develop solar and wind power plants for Egypt, Reda El Chaar, chairman of Access Power, told Reuters this week.
Access Infra Africa, a partnership between Access Power and French renewable energy company EREN Developpement, has been prequalified by Egypt's Ministry of Electricity to develop four solar plants with total capacity of 200 MW and two wind plants of 100 MW, El Chaar said.
