CAIRO: Egypt has named Elsewedy Electric, the Arab world's biggest listed cable maker, as winner of a tender to build six wind power stations, the company said, as the country battles a severe energy shortage.
The issue of power supply is important in Egypt and a potential test of the government's competence as it attempts to recover from years of political upheaval.
Egypt relies heavily on gas to generate power for households and industry and near-daily power cuts this year emphasized the extent of an energy crunch, which is unlikely to be alleviated soon by the project which as yet has no expected finish date.
The government has said it would cut its huge energy subsidies program and support renewables in the fiscal year that started this week, but has given no details.
Elsewedy said the tender for the wind power stations on the Red Sea coast with a capacity of around 100 megawatts (MW) each would involve it building, owning and operating them, as well as selling the power they produce for 25 years.
A final contract had yet to be agreed on, the company said. It gave no details on how much the project would cost and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Egypt's new President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi said in the run-up to his election in May that Egypt can currently produce around 30,000 MW and the electricity ministry has said peak consumption stands at 28,000 MW, but some experts have disputed these figures, saying the grid is weaker.
One expert, Justin Dargin at the University of Oxford, has said he expects the shortfall to reach 4,000 to 5,000 MW in July and August, when Egyptians have air conditioners running day and night, leaving a huge gap in the grid to cover even with an additional 600 MW.
Elsewedy says on its website it has a wind turbines assembly factory with 240 megawatts production capacity, which it expects to double within five years.
Elsewedy shares closed at 33.00 Egyptian pounds, up around 1.7 percent. The bourse had stopped trading the company's shares earlier in the day pending publication of the statement.
Elsewedy wins tender to build six wind power stations
Elsewedy wins tender to build six wind power stations
ACWA Power expands Gulf footprint with Kuwait and Bahrain asset acquisition
RIYADH: Saudi utility giant ACWA Power has completed the acquisition of power generation and water desalination assets in Bahrain and Kuwait from a subsidiary of French-based ENGIE SA.
In a Tadawul statement, the company announced that it has acquired gas-fired power generation assets with a capacity of 4.6 gigawatts, as well as water desalination assets with a capacity of 1.1 million cubic meters per day, along with related operations and maintenance companies in Bahrain and Kuwait, from a subsidiary of the French-based entity.
The acquisition follows an agreement signed between ACWA Power and Kahrabel FZE, a subsidiary of ENGIE, to acquire power and water assets in Kuwait and Bahrain for $693 million.
The deal includes a 45 percent interest in both the Al-Ezzel and Al-Dur projects as well as a 30 percent holding in the Al-Hidd facility, all situated in Bahrain.
It also sees ACWA Power acquire an 18 percent stake in Az Zour North in Kuwait.
ACWA Power further said that the acquisition was completed following the satisfaction of all conditions precedent stipulated in the sale and purchase agreement, including the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals in Bahrain.
“As for Kuwait assets, a few customary technical conditions are remaining, following which the transaction will be finalized,” said the company.
Earlier this month, ACWA Power signed an agreement with Bahrain-based Bapco Energies to develop a solar power plant with a large-scale battery energy storage system in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Under the deal, both parties will work together to jointly develop a solar power plant with a projected generation capacity of up to 2.8GW over several phases.
