ACWA Power achieves financial close for 200MW Kom Ombo solar project in Egypt

ACWA Power, a Saudi-listed company and the world’s largest private water desalination company, the first mover into green hydrogen, and a leader in energy transition, has announced the financial close for the 200MW Kom Ombo project, a utility-scale solar power plant in Egypt.

With an overall investment cost of US $182 million, the Kom Ombo plant is expected to be commercially operational in January 2024, the company said.

Financing institutions for this project include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), African Development Bank (AfDB), AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) and Arab Bank.

A financial package of $123 million for the project was previously announced in April 2023. The package comprised of loans of up to US$ 35.6 million from the EBRD, $14.4 million from the OPEC Fund, $14.4 million from the AfDB, $34.1 million from the GCF, $14.4 million from Arab Bank and $10 million from the SEFA under the COVID-19 IPP relief programme. The project already has equity bridge loans of US$ 14 million from the EBRD and US$ 45 million from APICORP.

“We are thrilled to announce the successful financial close of the monumental Kom Ombo solar project in Egypt. Our commitment to renewable energy solutions has brought us to this momentous juncture,” Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, said in a statement.

“We are poised to turn our vision into reality. I am thankful for the great support from all the financing institutions involved. Together, we demonstrate our dedication to driving positive environmental impact and reinforce our joint contribution to Egypt's energy independence goals,” he added.

Once fully functional, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households, contributing to the Egyptian government’s target to generate 42 per cent of the country’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035 while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs in Africa.