FinMin prepares USD 3 bn worth of projects across desalination, wastewater treatment, and electricity, Libya

The Finance Ministry is lining up 16 desalination, wastewater treatment, and electricity projects worth a combined USD 3.08 bn under a public-private partnership model (PPP), Al Borsa reports, citing a government document it has seen. Four desalination projects dominate the pipeline, together accounting for USD 2.68 bn, or 87% of the total value. Two are currently out to tender: a USD 1 bn plant in Suez and a USD 800 mn plant in Port Said, together adding 1 mn cbm / d of capacity across two phases. The two other desalination projects — one in Alamein (USD 170 mn) and another in the Suez Canal Economic Zone at Ain Sokhna (USD 710 mn) — have reached final tendering.

The rest of the pipeline:

• Four industrial wastewater plants in Amreya (USD 40 mn), Abu Rawash (USD 48 mn), Port Said (USD 65 mn), and Wadi El Natrun (USD 24 mn);
• A USD 150 mn sludge treatment plant at Abu Rawash;
• A USD 23.5 mn water recycling plant at Mostorod;
• Five electricity substation and distribution projects: two in Sadat City (USD 10 mn and USD 21 mn), and one each in Sixth of October (USD 4 mn), New Mansoura (USD 12 mn), and New Aswan (USD 2 mn).

MEANWHILE- The Electricity Ministry and Belgium’s Hydrovolta are discussing tying desalination into Egypt’s existing power plant infrastructure as part of the PPP pipeline, according to a ministry statement. The two parties are said to be weighing a project to desalinate 10 mn cbm / d of water by 2050, with a first 3.35 mn cbm / d phase that would extract chemicals from desalination byproducts, helping lower Egypt’s chemical import bill.

Why it matters: Egypt aims to raise its daily desalination capacity from 1 mn cbm / d in 2023 to 8.85 mn cbm / d by 2050. That expansion requires an estimated USD 8.5 bn in capital investment, plus more than USD 800 mn a year in operations and maintenance spending.

Qatari Diar heads to the Red Sea

Qatari Diar is set to receive a 29 mn sqm plot in Hurghada this week for a new tourism project, kicking off a 20-year execution plan. The first phase is expected to roll out before year-end, Asharq Business reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. Qatari Diar has already fielded offers from Egyptian and Gulf developers looking to partner on parts of the project, the sources said.

BACKGROUND- Qatari Diar originally contracted for land on the Hurghada-Safaga road back in 2006, the news outlet reports, but only signed the final allocation contract this year for a fully integrated tourism city spanning c. 7k feddans.

The Red Sea move runs alongside Qatari Diar’s other big Egyptian plays, including the USD 29.7 bn Alam El Roum mega-city on the North Coast, which kicked off its EGP 220 bn first phase last month, City Gate in New Cairo, the St. Regis Cairo hotel and residences on the Nile, and New Giza west of Cairo, according to its website.

REMEMBER- The cabinet approved a draft prime minister’s decree earlier this month to designate the 4.9k-feddan Qatari Diar development as an investment zone. The zone runs along the Alexandria-Matrouh coastal road in Matrouh Governorate and will accommodate residential, tourism, commercial, administrative, and service activities.

Al Baraka wraps AT Lease swap

Al Baraka closed out the AT Lease swap, picking up 273.7 mn shares in yesterday’s session and completing a mandatory tender offer (MTO) that converts each AT Lease share into 0.1919 new Al Baraka shares, according to a statement. The offer carried no cash option and settled entirely in stock, leaving the bank to issue some 52.5 mn new shares against the up to 63.2 mn it earmarked. Almost the whole block came from Arab Moltaqa Investments.

This is housekeeping rather than a change of control. Al Baraka already owned 7.6% of AT Lease directly and ran another 68.4% through Arab Moltaqa, so its effective holding sat north of 76% before the mandatory tender offer went live late last month asking for up to 90% of the company.

A new SPAC pack

Two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been cleared to operate, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said in a statement. Tafra Investment Group SPAC was approved for establishment, and Spark SPAC was licensed to run the same venture capital-for-acquisition activity. They join a field that now includes CPME, which closed two acquisitions worth EGP 2.8 bn within months of listing, OG Capital, and RMBV’s pending application.

The specialized fund side got busier too. Imtelak Real Estate Projects Fund was licensed as a real estate investment fund, while Moroj Agricultural Investment Fund got the green light to launch as a multi-issuance private equity fund. Med Mark was also cleared to set up as a reins. broker. Real estate-linked vehicles have been the fastest-moving corner of the FRA’s product build since it set out the fractional ownership framework last year.

ALSO- The debt collection register doubled in a single round, with Zain for Inquiry and Collection, Al-Riyadah, SAZ, and Abu Shadi taking the total to eight, on a register that had four names on it in early August — including Taswia — after some 71 collection firms challenged the rules in court.

Daltex sows across three markets

Homegrown agribusiness Daltex signed on as the exclusive Egypt, Algeria, and Libya distributor for Chinese irrigation equipment maker Anhui Irritech. The move is part of a push to grow its engineering and irrigation services across all three markets, Al Mal reports, citing Daltex’s head of projects Tarek Nowara. Irritech will supply the hardware — its center-pivot and linear irrigation systems, plus AI-enabled tools — while Daltex will handle the rest of the project lifecycle, from land assessment and hydraulic design to installation, commissioning, and after-sales services. The value of the agreement wasn’t disclosed.

IN CONTEXT- There’s a market forming behind the Egypt leg. Center pivots are the kit reclaimed desert runs on, and the country is still adding land: the New Delta project alone targets over 1 mn feddans west of the Delta. The government’s latest economic plan lifted irrigation and water resources spending by 88%, among its steepest infrastructure increases this year.

More on our radar:

• Mastercard and Arab Financial Services (AFS) are rolling out corporate credit and prepaid cards for businesses in Egypt and the UAE. Rollout starts in the UAE, with Egypt set to follow, though a detailed timeline wasn’t disclosed. (Statement)
• Nvidia and RiseUp hosted an AI ecosystem reception in Cairo yesterday, gathering Nvidia executives, startup founders, academics, and policymakers to discuss AI prospects in the country. (Press release, pdf)