A consortium of France’s Eren Renewable Energy and Dubai-based Access Power has reached financial close for two solar energy projects under Egypt’s feed-in-tariff programme.

The two proposed photovoltaic (PV) projects will have a combined total capacity of 126MW, and will be located in the Benban complex in the Aswan province of Egypt. Construction of the plants is expected to begin before the end of 2017.

Funding for the plants will be provided through non-recourse debt provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency (AFD).

The two projects follow on from the successful financial closure of five other projects under the second round of the feed-in-tariff programme in the past two weeks. On 26 October, MEED reported that a consortium of Germany’s Ib vogt and the local Infinity Solar has reached financial close for two photolvoltaic (PV) solar plants in the programme.

The two solar plants will have a combined total capacity of 80MW. The developer consortium will receive an $87m syndicated loan from the European Bank for Redevelopment & Construction (EBRD), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO). The UAE office of UK-based law firm Clifford Chance advised EBRD on the transaction.

The consortium was assisted by India/US Synergy consulting and Germany’s Solizer, which acted as transaction advisers for the two projects.

Days earlier, a consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Swicorp and Spain’s Acciona Energia revealed it would be developing three PV solar plants under feed-in-tariff programme.

Swicorp and Acciona will each hold a 50 per cent stake in the project company. Acciona is also part of the EPC consortium that will build the plants.

The three plants, which will have a total combined capacity of 150MW, will be developed in the Benban complex in the Aswan region of Egypt. The total value of the PV schemes will be about $180m.