A consortium of Abu Dubai’s International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) and Egypt’s Orascom Construction has selected banks to fund its $3bn, 3,000MW coal-fired power plant in Egypt.

The total investment cost of the first of two phases of the privately-owned project is about $3bn. Funding is expected to be provided through a mixture of debt and sponsor equity.

A total of $1.95bn is anticipated to come from bank debt, with the Orascom-Ipic consortium having received letters of interest from banks.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi is the project’s co-financial adviser and will support the development as part of the banking consortium.

Initial mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners will include:

• Arab African International Bank (local)
• Arab Bank (local)
• Banque Misr (local)
• Commercial International Bank (local)
• National Bank of Abu Dhabi
• National Bank of Egypt
• QNB Alahli (local)

Orascom and Ipic signed a development agreement on 15 March, which is in addition to an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) they signed in November with the Egyptian government.

The initial MoU granted the consortium an 18-month exclusivity period over the project site in the area of El-Hamrawein Port on the Red Sea coast.

The group has also said it will carry out port development work related to the import and handling of coal shipments. The initial agreement included details on the power purchase agreement (PPA) and eventual connection of the plant to the national grid.

The coal plant is one of several such facilities being developed in Egypt, with a number of agreements being signed during the Egypt Economic Development Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh on 13-15 March.

The independent power projects (IPPs) will require commercial bank debt as well as the possible involvement of international government-backed export credit agencies (ECAs).

Abu Dhabi-based private investment firm Al-Nowais Investments signed an additional agreement with Egyptian Electricity Holding Company at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference.

It plans to develop a two-phase 2,640MW plant in South Sinai in a deal worth about $4.5bn. Nowais Investments is in the process of finalising a PPA.

Egypt’s Electricity Ministry signed a MoU with Al-Tharwa Investments, part of UK-based Fourwinds Group, to develop a 6,000MW coal-fired plant, at an estimated cost of $10.6bn.

The project will be financed by Al-Tharwa Investments, and FourWinds Group through partnerships with regional and international financial institutions and ECAs.

On 14 March, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power signed a MoU to develop 4,000MW of coal-fired power generation facilities. The agreement was to develop $7bn of coal-fired power generation facilities in Egypt.

The facilities will be built over two phases, each of 2,000MW, resulting in a total capacity of 4,000MW. The coal plants will be developed under an IPP model.

Egypt’s Electricity & Energy Ministry also signed agreements with two Chinese companies at the event on 15 March.

China’s Shanghai Electric signed a deal to develop a 4,640MW coal-fired facility, which will have an estimated total value of $6.4bn.

China’s Dongfang Electric Corporation signed a MoU with the state utility to develop a 1,980MW coal-fired plant, which will have a total value of about $3bn.