Egyptian energy production and distribution company TAQA Arabia has signed a concession agreement to establish a 50MW solar energy plant in Benban near Aswan with a total investment cost worth $75m. The company is thus working to help tackle the country’s acute energy shortages.

TAQA Arabia is the largest private sector energy distribution company in Egypt with over 18 years of experience with diversified sources of energy, investing and operating Energy infrastructure including gas transmission and distribution, power generation & distribution, and marketing of petroleum products.

The agreement has been signed on the sidelines of the second annual energy conference in Cairo. Executive Chairman of TAQA Arabia, Khaled Abu Bakr, and Mohamed El-Sobky, Chairman of Egypt’s state-run New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) have sealed the agreement, in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Investment, Ashraf Salman, and Head Sector of Develop Performance and Sabah Mashaly, First Undersecretary at Ministry of Electricity.

With the theme of Energy and the Future of Investment in Egypt, the second annual energy conference is discussing the new developments in the field, in relation to the public and private sectors, as well as domestic and international financial institutions. The availability of high growth rates in the energy sector is commensurate with the needs of the country and ongoing national projects.

The conference will focus on conventional energy, by offering opportunities in the petroleum sector, and on new sources of power, in light of the positive steps taken by the government, including the new energy tariffs and rules of land allocation. The conference aims to discuss the energy market in Egypt and its suitability to meet the needs of the country in the coming years.

Source: Amwal Al-Ghad