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Ras Ghareb 150MW expansion reaches financial close

9 January 2025

Egypt-based Red Sea Wind Energy has reached financial close on the 150MW expansion of the 500MW Gulf of Suez wind farm project in Ras Ghareb, Egypt.

The company also announced that the first 306MW of the project has started commercial operations.

The original project has a capacity of 500MW, which reached financial close in early 2023.

Red Sea Wind Energy, the project company that will build, own and operate the project, is a consortium of France’s Engie with a 35% stake, the local Orascom Construction, which holds 25%, Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation with 20% and Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation with 20%.

Orascom Construction is also executing the construction of the civil and electrical works of the wind farm.

The expansion adds another 150MW, with the original lenders together extending a further cofinancing totaling $106m, MEED previously reported.

Orascom said the project's 150MW new phase is financed by the same partners who financed the original 500MW project capacity.

Non-recourse project financing is provided by the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) in coordination with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the Norinchukin Bank, and France's Societe Generale under a Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) cover, and the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

HSBC Bank Egypt acted as working capital bank and onshore security agent.

JBIC signed a loan agreement of approximately $51m with Red Sea Wind Energy to finance the project, MEED reported in November

JBIC confirmed at the time that the total loan of $106m was co-financed with the other four banks.

It is understood that the 150MW expansion required an additional investment of roughly $127m.

According to Nexi, it will provide cover for an approximately $35m loan extended by the commercial banks, as well as for the interest rate swap agreement guaranteed by SMBC.

The project company has been developing the 500MW  onshore wind farm, located in the Ras Ghareb region facing the Red Sea, approximately 200 kilometres southeast of the capital, Cairo. It consists of 84 wind turbine generators.

The 150MW expansion of the project entails the addition of a further 20 wind turbine generators, according to Nexi. 

The project is expected to be completed by mid-2025 and the whole wind farm is expected to be gradually connected to the grid by Q3 2025.

The consortium will operate and maintain the plant under a 25-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). Egypt’s Ministry of Finance is backing EETC’s obligations under the PPA.

This project marked the first cofinancing between Jbic and EBRD since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in October 2022 and the first joint project between Nexi and EBRD since an MoU in October 2020.

MEED reported in March 2023 that Jbic had signed a loan agreement to finance up to $240m of the project.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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