Egypt top destination for EBRD investment in region

In an interview with Ahram Online, Harmgart added that Egypt is one of the top three countries, out of 38, receiving EBRD investments.

The EBRD’s volume of investments in Egypt – a founding member of the bank – stands at nearly one billion Euros annually.

The bank has invested about 9.8 billion Euros in the country across more than 152 projects since 2012, with the private sector receiving about 76 percent across sectors including financial and banking institutions, electricity, renewable energy, manufacturing and others.

In the energy sector, the bank aims to invest up to $1 billion in private renewable projects in order to generate an addition 10 GW of renewable energy in Egypt, while also decommissioning five GW of inefficient gas-fired power plants, Harmgart said.

Moreover, the EBRD also aims to invest up to $300 million in sovereign lending, including for projects to stabilise Egypt's grid, add battery storage, develop the local supply chain for renewables and reskill workers.

“Egypt is a renewable energy superpower that can contribute to this goal by integrating more solar and wind consumption. It also has a huge potential to become a green hydrogen hub,” Harmgart said, adding that the bank is also looking at supporting projects in water desalination.

Egypt’s vision is to become a global and regional hub for green hydrogen production, storage and export. In late August, the country signed seven memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to establish industrial complexes to produce green hydrogen in the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone, which is located within the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).

In mid-September, Egypt initiated cooperation with the global Maersk Group to establish an integrated national network to produce and distribute green energy and clean fuels for ships based on new and renewable energy sources.