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Sunday, 16 August 2020

Zarou plans USD 1 bn investment in energy projects

INVESTMENT WATCH- Zarou plans USD 1 bn investment in energy: Blackstone Group’s energy developer, Zarou, will invest USD 1 bn in energy infrastructure this year, according to a cabinet statement. The statement doesn’t specify which projects the company is planning to invest in, but Zarou was last year reported to be the frontrunner to purchase a 70% stake in the first of the three Siemens-built combined-cycle power plants. The company announced the plans during a meeting on Thursday with Prime Minister Mousafa Madbouly, Planning Minister Hala El Said and Sovereign Fund of Egypt chief Ayman Soliman.

What’s Zarou? Owned by private equity giant Blackstone, Zarou is a MENA-focused energy development company that finances, constructs and operates renewable energy, oil and gas, and water projects in the region.

SFE + Electricity Ministry sign agreement to channel investment to state energy projects: The SFE and the Electricity Ministry signed an agreement to study placing state energy projects in the SFE’s portfolio to channel greater private sector investment to the industry, according to a cabinet statement. The move comes amid state efforts to boost investment in renewable projects and liberalize energy markets.

The SFE could work with the government on four new investments, including in the pharma, real estate development, and agriculture sectors, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik said yesterday (watch, runtime: 53:08). These projects include developing “large swathes” of land owned by state holding companies, developing land in key rural areas, rebuilding the historic Continental Hotel at Opera Square, and promoting a slaughterhouse that has been built in Toshka, Tawfik said.

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