A consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power will develop a 1.1-gigawatt wind project in Egypt at an investment of $1.5 billion.
The consortium, comprising Egypt-based Hassan Allam Holding, will work together during the development phase of the project to complete the site studies and secure financing, the Riyadh-based utility developer on Tuesday.
Located in the Gulf of Suez and Gabal el Zeit area, the wind project will be the largest in the Middle East and one of the largest onshore wind farms in the world, it said.
The project will use modern wind turbines with blade heights of up to 220 metres, which will help to achieve the best use of the designated land plots in the most efficient way.
The plant is expected to reach financial close by the third quarter of 2024, and will be commercially operational by the end of 2026.
This wind project falls within the framework of the Egyptian government’s strategy to diversify its energy sources and leverage the country’s rich natural resources, especially in renewable energy, Mohamed Shaker El Markabi, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said.
The Egyptian ministry is acting to ensure the resilience of energy strategy, which aims to increase the contribution of renewable energy to up to 42 per cent by 2035.
This project is an example of the Egyptian government’s efforts to increase the participation of the private sector in implementing green energy projects in the North African country as well as attracting investments from international, Arab and local companies into the country, Mr El Markabi said.
The project aims to mitigate the impact of 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year and provide electricity to 1,080,000 households.
We are honoured to contribute to the strengthening ties of Saudi Arabia, our home, and Egypt via this milestone wind project
Mohammad Abunayyan,
chairman of Acwa Power
Egypt is also preparing to host the UN Climate Conference Cop27 in November, a global forum to discuss countries’ efforts in addressing climate change.
“We are honoured to contribute to the strengthening ties of Saudi Arabia, our home, and Egypt via this milestone wind project, and extend our sincerest gratitude to the leaders of both countries in entrusting their faith in our abilities to realise their renewable energy mandates,” said Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of Acwa Power.
“This wind project demonstrates a commitment to realising a greener tomorrow, despite global economic volatility … we look forward to working with like-minded partners for a positive future,” Mr Abunayyan said.
This is Acwa Power’s third project, and first wind farm, in Egypt, after the 120-megawatt Ben Ban solar independent power projects in the Aswan region and the 200MW Kom Ombo solar plant.
“The project marks an important milestone in Egypt's plans to decarbonise the energy sector and meet its targets under the country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. We are proud to be part of this flagship project and look forward to a fruitful partnership,” said Dalia Wahba, deputy chief executive and chief investment officer of Hassan Allam Utilities.
Hassan Allam Utilities, the investment and development arm for Hassan Allam Holding, currently operates a 50MW solar plant, cementing its position as one of Egypt's leading green energy producers.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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