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PowerChina wins Egypt 1.1GW wind EPC contract

7 January 2025

Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 1,100MW Suez wind independent power project (IPP) in Egypt.

The project developers, a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia-based utility developer Acwa Power and a subsidiary of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities, HAU Energy, recently reached financial close for the project.

Located in the Gulf of Suez and the Gabal El-Zeit area, the Suez wind farm, Egypt's largest wind IPP to date, has an overall investment value of $1.2bn.

Acwa Power said the project secured a $703.6m senior debt facility from a consortium of the following banks:

  • European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD)
  • African Development Bank (AFDB)
  • British International Investment Corporation
  • German Investment Corporation
  • Opec Fund for International Development
  • Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp)

The senior debt funded by EBRD included a B loan structure provided by Standard Chartered Bank and Arab Bank, the utility developer said.

Acwa Power holds a 70% stake in the project, with HAU Energy owning the remaining 30%.

The developer team signed the project agreements in June 2022.

The consortium subsequently signed a 25-year land usufruct agreement for the wind project with the North African country’s New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) in January last year.

The IPP project will use wind turbines with blade heights of up to 220 metres to achieve the “best use of the designated land plots in the most efficient way”, Acwa Power previously said.

The project is designed to mitigate the impact of 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually and provide electricity to 1,080,000 households when complete.

Egypt’s Council of Ministers approved the signing of the project’s power-purchase agreement in November 2021.

It is understood that the 1,100MW Suez wind IPP is a replacement for the previously planned 2,300MW gas-fired IPP in Luxor.

Renewable energy sources, including hydropower, accounted for 10.3% of Egypt’s electricity production installed capacity as of 2021, according to data published by the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.

Egypt aims for renewable energy sources to account for 42% of its electricity production mix by 2035.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13228043/main0819.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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