Dubai: Saudi energy company, Acwa Power, aims to reach financial closure on the first phase of a $15 billion (Dh55 billion) investment plan in Egypt over the next six years.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy to increase its total investment in Middle East and North Africa.
The centrepiece of this plan is a green hydrogen project in Egypt, which, once operational, could become the second-largest of its kind globally, following Saudi Arabia's $8.5 billion (Dh31 billion) Neom Green Hydrogen Project, according to London based news website Arabian Gulf Business Insight. Acwa Power anticipates launching the facility by 2028, with a projected annual production of 600,000 tonnes of green ammonia, about half of the output expected from the Neom project.
The company plans to invest over $4 billion (Dh14 billion) in this initial phase, having secured a framework agreement with the Egyptian government last December, with ambitions to scale the operation to 2 million tonnes of green ammonia annually.
Acwa Power oversees five solar projects in Upper Egypt, with a combined investment nearing $2 billion (Dh7 billion) and is exploring desalination opportunities with the Egyptian government.
The Egyptian government aims to boost its desalination capacity from 1.3 million cubic metres per day to 8.85 million by 2050.
Acwa Power is targeting an increase in its total African investments from approximately $8 billion (Dh29 billion) to $30 billion (Dh110 billion) by 2030, with Egypt representing around half of that amount.
The remainder will primarily fund projects in Morocco and South Africa. The company is also negotiating with Tunisia and has recently committed to a desalination plant in Senegal.
