Petrojet tapped as contractor for two CSP plants in Egypt’s New Valley

Petrojet tapped for New Valley’s solar plants: A consortium comprising of Egypt’s SmartEngineering Solutions (SES) and German renewable energy firm Frenell has selected Cairo-based Petrojet to be the contractor for two concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in Egypt’s New Valley, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The two plants — the first of their kind in Egypt to employ such technology — will have a capacity of up to 70 MW.

What we know: The sources valued the project’s investments at up to EUR 340 mn (c. EGP 12 bn), adding that the funding will be sourced from Frenell. The construction phase will reportedly last 20 months, SES Egypt’s CCO Ahmed Naguib said, adding that SES is working on securing the necessary plots for the project to kick off construction.

A bid for local manufacturing? Petrojet is currently in talks with the consortium to manufacture some of the equipment needed for the project locally instead of relying on imports in a bid to lower costs, they said.

It's been an eventful week for CSP: The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) launched this week a global tender for the construction and operation of five CSP plants that will generate electricity to desalinate water on Egypt’s North Coast. The facilities will be constructed under a 25-year BOO structure, with bidders asked to submit their offers by no later than 27 September, according to the notice. The five CSP plants — which will see investments of USD 270 mn — will have an overall capacity of 250 MW. The BOO structure would see the Electricity Ministry purchase electricity from the plants and feed it into the national grid, they said, adding that the facilities should help desalinate over 400k cubic meters per day.