Gov’t wants more for the Gabal El Zeit wind farm: The Madbouly government is in talks with Actis in a bid to convince the UK-based emerging markets private equity giant to pay USD 600-800 mn for the 580-MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm, a source the New Renewable Energy Authority told Enterprise. Actis’ had originally submitted an offer of USD 400 mn, the source added.

The two sides opened talks after the government recognized Actis’ bid as the best on technical andfinancial grounds from among several bidders back in June, Planning Minister Hala El Said said during a press conference last month on recent progress in the state’s asset sale program. She said at the time the government was looking to sell the plant for more than USD 300 mn.

What’s next: The government aims to ink contracts by the end of October, our source said, confirming the timeline El Said gave last month. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) has provided Actis with full data on the wind farm so that it can conduct due diligence ahead of making a final offer, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources.

There’s r oom for expansion: There’s enough land for Actis to add more turbines and up the capacity of the wind farm to over 1 GW, the domestic press reports.

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. Maersk could acquire half of Zafarana after the government approved the shipping giant’s ownership in principle, per a recent report in the local press. Both wind 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.

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