Arab Finance: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering providing up to $120 million in debt financing for the acquisition, operation, and maintenance of the 580-megawatt (MW) Gabal El Zeit wind farm in the Red Sea Governorate, Egypt.

The project is sponsored by Alcazar Energy Partners III SLP, managed by Alcazar Energy Management Services, as part of Egypt’s government asset privatization program launched in 2023.

Under the program, the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) is divesting the operational wind farm.

The project has a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance, under terms consistent with Egypt’s build-own-operate (BOO) program.

The wind farm was developed and operated in three phases between 2014 and 2018. Gabal El Zeit 1, comprising 120 turbines across 38.5 square kilometers (km2), was commissioned with a capacity of 200MW in August 2014 and expanded by an additional 40MW in July 2018, with financing from the German Development Bank (KfW) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The second phase, comprising 110 turbines across 44.9 km2, was commissioned in March 2017 and financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Finally, the third phase, comprising 60 turbines across 107.2 km2, was commissioned in June 2018 and financed by the Spanish Corporate Internationalization Fund (FIEM).

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) currently operates and maintains the facility and is expected to remain involved following the acquisition.

Potential arrangements include continued O&M services, spare-parts supply, and SCADA services, although the precise contractual structure remains under negotiation.