INVESTMENT WATCH- Looks like the Al Nowais “clean coal” project may not happen after all: The Electricity Ministry has withdrawn a contract with the UAE’s Al Nowais to build a USD 4 bn, 2.65 GW “clean coal” power station in Oyoun Mousa, government sources told the local press. The sources said that the country’s current electricity surplus, the project’s high cost, and the ministry’s focus on renewable sources of energy were all reasons for the reported cancellation. A final agreement was expected to be signed in 1Q 2019, but ministry sources said in July that the project had been postponed, citing the country’s electricity surplus. The ministry signed the original MoU with Al Nowais back in 2014.

Other potential investments in the pipeline? The Emirati company will soon discuss with the Egyptian government offers it made to build renewable energy plants with a total capacity of 500 MW, the sources said. The Electricity Ministry is currently preparing a detailed report on the offers to present to the prime minister alongside the decision to end the Oyoun Mousa agreement.