Saudi Arabian developer Acwa Power announced on 16 January that it has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to China’s Chint Solar (Zheijang) for the development of three solar PV projects at the Benban complex, Aswan province. The projects, worth a combined $190m, were selected as part of Egypt’s feed-in-tariff programme and will be located on plots 3-1 (50MW), 42-4 (25MW), and 43-4 (50MW).
Power purchase agreements were signed by Acwa Power and the Egyptian government in August 2017. Financing was obtained from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), who will together cover 75% of the project costs with a non-recourse loan, supported by the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. The remaining 25% will be funded through equity.
Construction is expected to begin this quarter and commercial operations are expected by the end of the year. Chint Solar chief executive Chuan Lu said that “Egypt is a growing market where significant change is happening in the renewables industry”. The Egyptian government aims to generate 20% of power from renewable sources by 2022.
