Alcazar closes USD 436 mn of European debt for its 500 MW wind farms in Egypt

Dubai-based Alcazar Energy Partners reached financial close on its 500 MW Niat and Rasgha wind farms in Egypt, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Germany’s DEG each providing a third of a USD 436 mn debt package, Alcazar said in a statement yesterday. The two 250 MW farms at Ras Ghareb on the Gulf of Suez cost USD 626 mn combined and are due to start commercial operation by the end of 2028.

The rest is equity from Alcazar’s own fund. Alcazar Energy Partners II, the USD 490 mn fund that wholly owns both projects, is putting in c. USD 190 mn. The three lenders are on both sides of the transaction: they are also investors in the fund, alongside the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), France’s Proparco, and Dutch development bank FMO.

Construction is underway. Siemens Gamesa will supply the turbines and handle long-term maintenance. Orascom Construction, which is folding into an Abu Dhabi-based platform with OCI Global, will do the civil and electrical works. State grid operator Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) will buy all the power under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Alcazar expects the farms to generate more than 2.3 TWh a year.

There’s more to come. Alcazar is also buying Egypt’s state-owned 580 MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm for USD 420 mn. That agreement was signed in July and has yet to close its financing, with the IFC weighing USD 120 mn toward it. Alcazar puts its two Egyptian transactions at more than USD 1 bn combined.

Why it matters: Egypt needs foreign developers and development bank debt to hit its target of 45% renewable electricity by 2028. It pulled that target forward from 2035 after the war nearly tripled its monthly gas import bill, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.