HA Utilities, a subsidiary of Cairo-based construction and engineering firm Hassan Allam Holding (HAH), has formed a joint venture (JV) with UK-based Lightsource BP to fund, develop and operate solar projects in Egypt.

“The joint venture has been formed and we will start developing projects together soon,” a company spokesperson tells MEED.

The joint venture combines Hassan Allam Holding’s 80-year construction and engineering expertise and Lightsource BP’s track record in delivering utility scale solar projects around the world, a joint statement said.

Established in 2010, Lightsource BP has over $3bn of capital invested across 2GW of solar projects globally. BP owns a 43 per cent share in the company.

“Projects in emerging markets are not just yield plays, they’re growth plays to power fast-growing economies and populations,” Nick Boyle, CEO and founder of Lightsource BP, said. “We see exciting potential in Egypt following the country’s economic recovery and recently announced renewable power targets.”

Renewable power is targeted to account for 20 per cent of Egypt’s energy mix by 2022.

In March, a consortium comprising Spain’s Acciona Group and Saudi Arabia’s Swicorp started construction work on three photovoltaic (PV) plants in Egypt under the second round of the North African state’s Feed-in-tariff (FIT) programme.

The solar plants will be developed in the Benban complex in the Aswan region of Egypt. The total value of the solar plants will be about $180m. Each plant is expected to take 12 months to build, and will be equipped with 190,774 polycrystalline silicon modules supplied by China’s Jinko Solar technology.

The developer consortium has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under the terms of the second round of Egypt’s FIT programme. The group will receive financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).