Cairo – Mubasher: Orascom Construction Plc announced the completion of construction and operation of Ras Ghareb wind energy project in Egypt, 45 days before the scheduled date.
The wind farm, having a power generation capacity of 262.5 megawatt (MW), has been fully connected to the national grid with full commercial operation at its maximum capacity as of 31 October, according to a statement on Monday.
Egypt’s first renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) project “is executed on a build-own-operate (BOO) scheme by Ras Ghareb Wind Energy SAE, a company established by a consortium of ENGIE (France), Toyota Tsusho Corporation/Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation (Japan), and Orascom Construction,” the statement showed.
Orascom Construction, which holds a 20% stake in the project, is the contractor for the civil works and electrical systems.
The consortium arranged a funding for Ghareb Wind Energy project from the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC), in collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Société Générale under an insurance coverage provided from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).
Commercial International Bank (CIB) served as working capital bank, while Attijariwafa Bank offered an equity bridge loan to Orascom Construction.
Under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), the generated electricity will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).
It is worth mentioning that during the first half of 2019, Orascom Construction logged a net profit of $67.2 million, compared to $87 million in H1-18.
