Egypt secures Arab funding for power project
A loan deal offered by the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development to Egypt to finance the first
stage of construction of an electricity generator in the west Nile Delta was signed in the presence of Egyptian Prime
Minister Atef Obeid.
The Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development will lend Egypt $ 100 mm on easy terms. The loan for the power
plant near the canal of Nuberiya would be paid off over 20 years with 3 % yearly interest and a grace period of six
years.
Egypt's current installed capacity is 16.6 GW, with plans to increase this capacity by 9.3 GW by 2010. 84 % of
Egypt's generating capacity is thermal, with the remaining 16 % hydroelectric -- predominantly from the Aswan High
Dam. Conversion of oil-fired plants to natural gas recently took place as part of a nation wide program.
Electricity demand in Egypt is predicted to grow at 7 %-8 % each year and there are a number of power plants under
construction.
The potential hydro capacity on the river Nile is almost fully exploited. Thus, any increases in capacity will have to be thermally powered, unless the government reinvestigates extensive nuclear plans that were abandoned at the time of the Chernobyl disaster.
