“Following the successful construction and energisation of our 64 MWp Round 1 project in Egypt we are pleased to announce the commencement of the build-out of our next 3 plants in this series and are proud that these are the first of the Round 2 projects. We – together with our local partners – have demonstrated our strong capabilities to manage the complex issues in building these projects in Egypt, incorporating all stakeholder, local community and local specific requirements to deliver the projects. We would like to thank all of our partners, stakeholders, authorities and the community of Benban for their strong support and look forward to contributing to the success on the important Round 2 programme in Egypt.” says Anton Milner, Managing Director of ib vogt GmbH.
Including the operational round one project our overall portfolio within the Benban solar development complex will total 230.6 MWp. At 1.8 GWp this solar power complex, located 650 km south of Cairo in the Aswan Governorate near the village of Benban, will be one of the world’s largest solar complexes and is a crucial part of Egypt’s plan to meet 20 per cent of its electricity demand through renewable energies by 2022.
The project partners – an international conglomerate consisting of ib vogt, Infinity Solar, Phoenix Energy and BPE Partners – achieved financial close at the end of October. Debt financing amounting to USD 146 Million was secured for these projects. For the “BSEP 50” and “MMID 30” installations financing has been provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the CDC Group provided the financing for the “Phoenix 50” project.
ib vogt is acting as EPC and operation and maintenance (O&M) contractor for these projects.