$10 billion... Egyptian-Emirati investment to generate electricity from wind

The Egyptian government announced the signing of an agreement with the UAE to invest about ten billion dollars, with the aim of generating electricity from wind.

The signing of the agreement was attended by the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, and from the UAE side, the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sultan Al Jaber.

Wind power project

According to the Egyptian National Media Authority, the wind energy project occupies an area of about 3,000 square kilometres, and seeks to produce 10,000 megawatts of electricity in cooperation with the UAE.

The Emirati company, Masdar, is leading the joint consortium, and the “Infinity Power” and “Hassan Allam” utilities companies are also joining the project, which is expected to close financially within 18 months of signing the contracts.

Significance of the agreement

According to the agreement, the wind power plant, upon completion, will produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually.

  It will contribute to avoiding the emission of 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to approximately 9% of the current carbon dioxide emissions in Egypt.

  The project will contribute to achieving Egypt's goal of renewable energy making up 42% of the energy mix by 2035.

The importance of the project for Egypt

This project confirms the ability of renewable energy in Egypt to attract foreign direct investment.

At the same time, it stresses the role of Egyptian national institutions in creating an investment climate that enjoys low risks and positive interaction with financing institutions and development partners.

In addition to the comparative advantages of Egypt in terms of the availability of lands necessary to produce a huge amount of electricity from renewable energies, as well as Egypt's geographical location, which enables it to export green energy to Europe, depending on what the Egyptian state has done to support and raise the efficiency of the national electricity grid.

Job opportunities

It is expected that the wind energy project will provide 10,000 direct job opportunities during its implementation, in addition to about 3,000 permanent jobs, provided that its headquarters will be located in the western Sohag governorate in Egypt.

This cooperation comes within the framework of the Egyptian government's efforts to develop renewable energy projects, as the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation said last month that it is looking forward to financing climate and renewable energy projects, and to be more present with the Egyptian private sector.

The signing of the agreement today comes as an implementation of a memorandum of understanding concluded between Egypt and the UAE regarding the project during the COP 27 Climate Conference, which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh last November.