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Egypt utility contracts hit $5bn decade peak

9 February 2026

 

Egypt’s power and water sector had its strongest year in over a decade in 2025, hitting $5bn in contract awards for the first time since 2015. Power projects accounted for $4.2bn of the total, while water infrastructure awards rebounded to $823m after slumping to $128m the previous year.

Power contracts

In the power sector, the rise in major contract awards was led by wind, solar, waste-to-energy and transmission schemes. The most prominent award was the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 1.1GW Suez wind independent power project, secured by PowerChina.

The project is being developed by Suez Wind Energy, a special-purpose vehicle formed by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa and Egypt-based HAU Energy. Upon completion, it will be one of the largest onshore wind farms globally.

Despite dipping from the previous year, solar accounted for about $1bn of total awards. 

Independent forecasts suggest Egypt’s renewable capacity could reach around 31.6GW and account for roughly 42% of the electricity mix by 2035, pointing to sustained growth in solar and wind. 

In November, a consortium of local firms Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power won contracts to develop two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a combined capacity of 1,200MW, supported by 720MWh of battery storage under agreements with the Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.

Meanwhile, a joint venture of China Energy Engineering Corporation and Jiangsu Power Design Institute was appointed main contractor for the country’s first waste-to-energy plant.

The Abu Rawash facility in Giza will process 1,200 tonnes of municipal waste a day to generate 30MW of electricity and is expected to begin operations in 2029.

Grid reinforcement also progressed with PowerChina awarded the EPC contract for lots two and three of the East Ismailia-Zagazig 500kV overhead transmission line, a 130-kilometre corridor crossing the Suez and Al-Sharqia governorates.

Project milestones

Beyond the main contract awards, several major projects passed key development stages.

In December, UAE’s Amea Power and Japan’s Kyuden International Corporation reached financial close on a $700m project comprising a 1,000MW solar plant and 600MWh battery system in Aswan. The scheme is backed by a $570m debt package led by the International Finance Corporation and is expected to become Africa’s largest single-asset solar and storage facility when it enters operation this year.

Amea also commissioned a separate 300MWh battery energy storage system in Aswan in July, integrated with its existing 500MW Abydos solar plant, marking Egypt’s first utility-scale storage deployment.

Hybrid projects have also seen increased investor interest, with France’s EDF Power Solutions recently acquiring a 20% stake in the 1.1GW Obelisk solar-battery scheme near Luxor, joining Scatec and Norfund as shareholders.

At El-Dabaa, the nuclear programme entered a new phase as Egypt placed its first fuel order with Rosatom and installed the initial VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessel for Unit 1. These steps mark the shift from civil construction to mechanical and systems installation, following the granting of construction permits for all four units between 2022 and 2023.

The focus of procurement is set to shift decisively towards water in the next 12 to 18 months, with $3.54bn of projects at the prequalification stage and $917m currently under bidding or bid evaluation

Water contracts

Egypt’s water sector showed early signs of recovery following a sharp slowdown the previous year. The largest award was secured in June by a joint venture of Hassan Allam Construction and Metito Utilities. It involves the Alexandria West wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which will convert the facility from primary to secondary treatment and lift capacity to 600,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) through new sludge digestion, biogas and process units.

Hassan also won the main contract for the $150m Abu Qir seawater reverse osmosis plant, adding 80,000 cm/d of potable supply, as part of a consortium with Water & Environment Technologies Company (Wetico).

Further awards were led by local contractors including Intech, a Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary, appointed to deliver the EPC works for the Marsa Matrouh extension, doubling capacity to 60,000 cm/d.

Among international contractors, Kuwait’s Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons secured the main contract for the $104m Tanta rehabilitation project in Gharbia, delivering 100,000 cm/d of new treatment capacity.

Shift in focus

The focus of procurement is set to shift decisively towards water in the next 12 to 18 months, with $3.54bn of projects at the prequalification stage and $917m currently under bidding or bid evaluation.

Egypt is among the region’s most water-constrained countries, with demand exceeding renewable supply by about 7 billion cubic metres a year and per-capita availability of roughly 500 cubic metres, far below the international scarcity threshold.

As of February 2026, almost $500m-worth of water infrastructure contracts are under main bidding, including the $157m fourth extension of the Giza wastewater treatment plant, led by Construction Authority for Potable Water and Wastewater (CAPW).

The project will add 400,000 cm/d of treatment capacity to supply recycled water for the Barakat drainage system and support 29,000 acres of irrigation. The contract was recently retendered, with bids due by 30 March.

In the medium-to-long term, the scale of schemes moving through prequalification suggests Egypt could be on the cusp of a major upswing in water investment.

The pipeline is led by projects such as the Hammam desalination plant on the North Coast, the New Alamein and Matrouh seawater schemes, and new wastewater treatment and reuse facilities linked to agricultural development zones.

If a meaningful share of these $3.54bn projects moves into main tendering, annual water awards would likely surpass recent years and begin to rebalance a utilities market dominated by the power sector.

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Mark Dowdall

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