EBRD Will Provide Egypt With EUR 165 Million Loan for Electricity Grid

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide the government of Egypt with a EUR 165 million loan to help develop the nation's electricity grid, which will start being disbursed from December 13th.

On top of upgrading the electricity transmission grid, which is hoped to make it more efficient while reducing pollutant emissions, the loan will also cover the expansion of several stations across Egypt, including a 500 kilovolt substation in Cairo, which will replace an old gas-powered station in Qalyubia's Shubra El-Kheima.

Additionally, the loan will cover a 200 km high-voltage overhead transmission line, which will transfer 2.1 gigawatt of renewable energy that has been produced in the Gulf of Suez.

The overall cost of the projects is estimated at around EUR 200 million, with the European Union to provide the remaining EUR 35 million. According to the EBRD, these projects are crucial to enable Egypt to achieve its 2030 strategy of having 42% of its energy generated by renewable sources by the end of the decade.