Final contracts for Hamrawein ‘clean coal’ project to be signed mid-2019: The Chinese company constructing the 6 GW Hamrawein ‘clean coal’ power plant aims to sign final contracts with Egypt by mid-2019, said Han Bing, minister-counsellor for commercial Affairs at the Chinese embassy in Cairo. Bing said negotiations between the two sides in regards to the technical logistics are currently underway, adding that the coming months will see agreements on the financial and legislative terms of the six-year project.

Background: The construction of the plant was awarded to a consortium of Chinese companies including Shanghai Dongwei Electric Appliance Co. and Hassan Allam Holding at a total cost of USD 4.4 bn last year. The China Development Bank (CDB) is reportedly offering USD 3.7 bn in financing to the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company for the construction while the remainder is expected to come from local banks. The Egyptian government was said in October to have been seeking better terms from the CDB on the financing package.