Egypt gets $195 mln loan for power station upgrade
The loan from the fund is for a project at the al-Walidiya plant in the southern city of Assiut
Egypt, facing the risk of ever-worsening blackouts, approved on Tuesday a $195.52 million (55-million-Kuwaiti dinar) loan from the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development to help finance an upgrade of a power plant.
Egypt needs at least $5 billion to invest in its dilapidated electricity generation system, a government official told Reuters earlier this month
The loan from the fund, which lends money for development projects in the Middle East, is for a project at the al-Walidiya plant in the southern city of Assiut, a cabinet statement said.
Renovation to rundown power plants is badly needed. The Electricity Ministry says that about a quarter of Egypt's 51 power stations are more than 20 years old. New plants also need to be built to boost power capacity to meet soaring consumption in the Arab world's largest most populous country.
The loan was approved by the cabinet after an initial agreement signed by President Adly Mansour last month, according to the statement.
($1 = 0.2813 Kuwaiti Dinars)
Also Read
-
Is Egypt on the verge of an environmental disaster?
Egypt plans to use coal as an alternative source of energy, a decision found quite harmful to the environment Analysis -
Kuwait agrees deal to boost Egypt energy supplies
The new deal raises Kuwait’s oil exports to Egypt to 85,000 barrels per day from 65,000 previously Energy -
Could Egypt’s energy quagmire sink Sisi?
Sisi is expected soon to stage a triumphal run for the presidency Analysis -
Clean energy investment could steer Egypt past instability
The country’s increasing demand for electricity along with depleting oil reserve present the need for alternative energy sources Energy
