Maersk could be looking to purchase the Zafarana wind farm: The government has received an offer from Denmark's global shipping bellwether Maersk for the acquisition of the state-owned 545-MW Zafarana wind farm, a government source told Enterprise Climate, confirming an earlier report by Al Mal citing government sources in the know. The global shipping giant is looking to acquire the farm to use the generated energy in its own green hydrogen projects, they said.

What we know: Sources told the newspaper that the Egyptian government, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and the electricity minister are currently studying the offer. They are also assessing assets related to its leading state-owned 580-MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm and Zafarana wind farm after receiving acquisition bids from global unnamed investors.

REMEMBER- Gabal El Zeit, along with the state-owned 545-MW Zafarana wind farm, was included in the list of 32 companies and assets earmarked for privatization announced by the government earlier this year. The farms have attracted significant interest among investors, including Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, the UAE’s Alcazar Energy, and our friends at local renewables firm Infinity.

The Gabal El Zeit wind farm has also been garnering interest: UK private equity giant Actis threw its hat in the ring to acquire the Gabal El Zeit wind farm last week, a government source confirmed to us. An SFE-led committee including representatives from the finance, electricity, and planning ministries reviewed multiple initial offers, the source told Enterprise, with Actis getting top marks for both its financial offer and technical know-how. The UK-based EM giant will be given full access to the data and the asset ahead of making a final offer.

What’s next: The Egyptian government is looking to secure over USD 300 mn by selling the Gabal El Zeit plant, Planning Minister Hala El Said said last week, adding that it accepted the highest bid in June after receiving a number of non-binding offers. The buyer will be given 60 days to conduct due diligence on the asset, which the government expects will see the sale wrap up by October.

Maersk is already investing heavily in Egypt: Maersk unveiled plans last year for a USD 15 bn clean fuel project in Egypt as part of the Egyptian government’s plans to position the country as a regional hub for green energy. It plans to work with the Egyptian government to set up a national network to produce and distribute green energy and fuel for ships. The cabinet also approved in May requests by Norwegian renewables producer Scatec and Maersk to allocate a piece of land in the Gulf of Suez for a 320-MW wind farm that will power their green projects, which include a green hydrogen plant and the USD 15-bn clean fuel project for the latter.

There could be more to come: The government source told Enterprise Climate he expects the government to offer other investment opportunities in the Gulf of Suez by December amid a growing interest by investors in renewable energy projects.

Tags: