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AfDB backs Dandara solar with USD 66 mn: The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) board approved up to USD 66 mn to finance a 500-MW phase of the Dandara solar project — the first stage of Scatec’s 1.1-GW plan — and a 100-MWh battery storage system in Naga Hammadi, according to a statement. The AfDB package comprises USD 46 mn from the bank’s resources and USD 20 mn in concessional funding from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund. The remainder of the USD 290 mn+ project cost will be mobilized from a consortium of development finance institutions.
The details: A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) backs the plant, with the Aluminium Company of Egypt (EgyptAlum) as the sole offtaker, supported by a wheeling agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. The plant is set to come online in early 2028, generating roughly 1.4k GWh a year. Once complete, Dandara is expected to cut EgyptAlum’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%.
Why it matters: The plant is a carbon-tariff hedge. Solar supply lets EgyptAlum cut the emissions embedded in its aluminum and defend its European market share against the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), live since January 2026 — protecting more than 6k Egyptian jobs, AfDB Power VP Kevin Kariuki said. EgyptAlum exports 60% of its production to Europe.
How the financing came together: Dandara sits under Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food andEnergy (NWFE) program, which has mobilized roughly USD 4 bn in concessional financing for private renewable projects totaling 4.2 GW, toward a 10 GW target by 2028. The financing has moved in stages: after the March 2025 PPA, Scatec’s Dandara subsidiary signed letters of intent with the EBRD, AfDB, and EIB in October 2025, and the EBRD board has been weighing a loan of up to USD 80 mn since April 2026, per an EBRD disclosure.
BACKGROUND- The Naga Hammadi solar build runs alongside a broader EgyptAlum growth push: a USD 3 bn alumina refinery with Aluminium Bahrain, a Trafigura-backed smelter expansion, and a new East Al Tafreah greenfield site that could together lift Egypt’s aluminum capacity to roughly 1.2 mtpa.
