A consortium of Egypt’s Orascom Construction plc, Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corp with its group company Eurus Energy and Engie have begun the construction of a 500MW wind farm in Ras Gharib.

The same consortium was previously chosen for Egypt’s first-ever wind power independent power producer (IPP) plan in Ras Gharib. Which was finished and put into service in October 2019.

Mohamed Shaker, Egypt’s minister of electricity and renewable energy, was present at the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday. As well as the Japanese and French ambassadors to Cairo and executives from the involved companies.

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The wind farm in Ras Gharib is expected to supply electricity to more than 800,000 Egyptian homes

The firms agreed to construct a wind park in the Red Sea Governorate, 50km (31.07 miles) north of Ras Ghareb. With the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) is also in place. Additionally, the project is expected to supply electricity to more than 800,000 Egyptian homes.

The Egyptian Cabinet said on Monday that the project contains USD 680 million (EUR 685.9 million) in foreign direct investment. A variety of international financial institutions, including the Climate Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and commercial banks, support the program.

Furthermore, the build-own-operate (BOO) model will be used to carry out the project, and construction is expected to be completed in 32 months. It will take 24 months to construct the first phase of the wind farm in Ras Gharib. At which point it will start supplying power to the grid for 25 years, according to the Cabinet.

Once operational, the wind farm should generate 1.2 million tonnes less carbon dioxide emissions per year. As well as provide more than 2,200 GWh of sustainable energy.