AFDB backs €250m sanitation and energy programmes in Egypt

0
Egypt satellite view

New financing packages agreed by African Development Bank.

The African Development Bank Group has agreed two new financing packages to invest in Egyptian sanitation and energy infrastructure.

A €109m package signed with the Government of Egypt will finance the Integrated Rural Sanitation in Upper Egypt-Luxor project to boost sewage coverage in the region from 6% to 55%. The new project will also enable an estimated 30,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater per day to be discharged into drainage and irrigation canals for reuse to enhance agricultural output.

Malinne Blomberg, the bank’s deputy director general for North Africa, explained: “This intervention is not just about infrastructure development. An essential part of the project is supporting ongoing sector reforms. Promoting efficient, equitable and sustainable economic development through integrated water resources management is a priority for the Government of Egypt,” said Rania Al-Mashat, minister of international cooperation “The IRSUE-Luxor initiative unlocks the socio-economic development potential for inclusive and green growth,” he said.

It is expected that around 240,000 people will benefit from new facilities that include an integrated system of sewerage networks, sludge treatment and wastewater plants.

The sanitation financing came just two days after the AFDB board signed off €27.2m of financing loans for the €150m construction and operation of a 200MW photovoltaic solar power plant at Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt on the River Nile.

The project, which is also supported by the EBRD, the Green Climate Fund, Arab Bank and the OPEC fund for International Development, sits 800 km south of Cairo. It is owned by ACWA Power, a leading Saudi Arabian developer, investor and operator of power generation and other infrastructure worldwide.

Egypt’s is facing significant challenges in meeting energy needs as its economy grows even during the pandemic. Annual energy demand has been rising at a rate of 7% per year and a move towards greater use of solar power is seen as vital to its energy security and climate change commitments.

“We are delighted to support this project that will deliver one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent,” said Kevin Kariuki, the bank’s vice president for power, energy, climate and green growth. “The project supports Egypt’s energy transition and contributes towards the country’s achievement of its targeted 20% share of renewables by 2022.”

Egypt’s electricity grid is linked to neighbouring Libya and Sudan and it is hoped the plant will play a part alongside others, in boosting energy trading and electricity access across the whole region.