It was a big day for renewables investments and UAE-Egypt relations, with senior private and public sector figures from the two countries inking numerous investments yesterday for projects across the length and breadth of the country.

#1- Lake Nasser may soon be getting a floating solar plant under an agreement signed yesterday between the UAE’s Masdar and the Egyptian state’s Future of Egypt agricultural expansion project, according to a cabinet statement. The project will not only take advantage of the large surface area and plenty of sun down south to produce much needed electricity, but will also help to reduce the rate of evaporation by covering much of the water’s surface, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said.

It’s unclear how big the project will be, with Emirati state news agency Wam putting the project’s capacity at 3 GW and the cabinet statement putting the capacity at 5 GW, split between a 2 GW first stage and 3 GW second stage.

#2- This wasn’t the only agreement Masdar signed with Future of Egypt, as another MoU was inked between the two to establish a solar plant in Nag Hammadi. Again, it was unclear how big the project will be, with Wam saying 2 GW and the cabinet saying 2.8 GW.

#3- A renewables-focused industrial zone in East Port Said may also be in the works, courtesy of AD Ports, who inked an MoU for the project with the SCZone yesterday, according to a cabinet statement. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ-owned company will develop, operate, and manage the 20 sq km zone in East Port Said. The possibility of linking the site with nearby docks and logistics areas is also under study.

What we know so far: The project will start with four factories, two of which will produce solar panels and other bits of solar tech, Madbouly said in his weekly presser. Fast forward a few months, and the project will also have facilities producing batteries to store solar power by next summer, he added. The factories will have a capacity of 4 GW of solar panels and 2 GW of battery storage.

This isn’t the first time we heard about the project: Recent meetings in August between government officials and Emirati government and business figures covered a proposal to set up an Emirati industrial zone in East Port Said, which the government said it was considering a freezone or special economic zone exempt from customs duties.

#4- A USD 12 mn battery storage factory is also in the works, after an MoU was inked between the Industry Ministry, the UAE’s Global South Utilities, and China’s Weiheng, according to a cabinet statement. The facility will have a capacity of 1 GW.

#5- Global South Utilities are also embarking on a factory project with another Chinese company, after inking an MoU with JA Solar for two solar power factories, according to a cabinet statement. One of the factories will manufacture solar cells with a production capacity of 2 GW at an investment cost of USD 138 mn, alongside another to produce solar panels with the same production capacity at a cost of USD 75 mn

ALSO- The cabinet greenlit two power purchase agreements for two separate solar projects for a consortium made up of the UAE’s Masdar, Hassan Allam Utilities, and Infinity Power, according to a cabinet statement. The agreements with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company are for a project at the giant Benban plant with a capacity of 300 MW and a battery storage capacity of 60 MWh, in addition to a second solar project in the Dahkla Oasis with a capacity of 900 MW and 660 MWh of battery storage. Trial operations for both projects will begin in July 2025, with the rest of the project to be completed the same year, according to a separate cabinet statement.

Remember: The project with a combined capacity of 1.2 GW was first approved by the cabinet in August.

PLUS- The cabinet also approved a draft decision to establish a USD 10 mn private freezone for ready-made garments in Sadat City — dubbed LT Jeans Services. The 22.8k sqm proposed zone has a targeted production of 2.9 mn garments per year that will be earmarked entirely for exports, using a local component ratio of 75%.

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