INVESTMENT WATCH- The Ismail cabinet voted on Thursday to green-light a plan from Canada’s SkyPower to develop a 3 GW solar PV project. The USD 5 bn project was originally signed during the March 2015 Egypt Economic Development Conference, and was resurrected earlier this year.

The news came as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a USD 500 mn framework to finance renewable energy projects in Egypt, the institution said in a statement. “The financing, approved by the EBRD’s Board of Directors on 7 June 2017, supports the development of private renewable energy projects under the Egyptian government’s feed-in-tariff programme. That program aims to stimulate private investment in over 4 GW of wind and solar power.” EBRD’s board approved 13 projects under the same framework and three others are scheduled for discussion later this month. In total the 16 power plants would deliver 750 MW of solar photovoltaic capacity and are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 900k tonnes a year. “We have been working with the Egyptian authorities since 2014 to help them fulfil their ambitious goals in this area. We are delighted now to be in a position to commit very significant financing to projects, which we expect to start construction before the end of 2017. This progress is really a tribute to the Egyptian government’s sustained commitment to making the best use of their abundant solar and wind resources to move to a more diverse and sustainable energy sector,” said Harry Boyd-Carpenter, head of power and energy at EBRD.