NEWS

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a financing package of up to $66 million for the first phase of the 500-megawatt Dandara solar project and a 100MWh battery energy storage system in Qena Governorate, southern Egypt.

The package will support the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a photovoltaic power plant with an integrated battery energy storage system. The Bank Group’s financing comprises $46 million from its ordinary resources and $20 million in concessional funding from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF), with additional debt to be mobilised from a consortium of development finance institutions. The total project cost is estimated at more than $290 million.

The Aluminium Company of Egypt (EgyptAlum) will be the sole off-taker under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), supported by a wheeling agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). EgyptAlum is a highly profitable, blue-chip public enterprise listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange since 1997 and is one of Africa’s largest aluminium producers.

The project is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of 2028 and to generate an estimated 1,373 gigawatt-hours of clean, reliable and cost-effective electricity each year.

The battery energy storage system will supply renewable power during peak evening demand while mitigating the variability of solar generation. The project is expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately half a million tonnes and create about 2,500 jobs during construction and 23 permanent roles during operation, with a special focus on women and youth employment.

The project is aligned with the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033, its Four Cardinal Points strategic vision, and its Country Strategy Paper for Egypt, which aims to increase and sustain access to sustainable energy sources across Africa by catalysing the mobilisation of commercial capital in the power sector.