Japan Bank for International Cooperation ( JBIC ) has signed a project financing agreement amounting to US$51 million with Red Sea Wind Energy for the Gulf of Suez 2 wind power expansion project.

Red Sea is owned by a consortium of Toyota Tsusho Corporation ( 20% ), Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation ( 20% ), Engie of France ( 35% ), and Orascom Construction of Egypt ( 25% ).

The loan is co-financed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( EBRD ), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ( SMBC ),  Norinchukin Bank, and Société Générale, bringing the total co-financing amount to approximately US$106 million.

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance ( NEXI ) will provide cover for the US$35 million loan extended by the commercial banks, as well as for the interest rate swap agreement guaranteed by SMBC.

Red Sea is building a 500-megawatt onshore wind farm with 84 turbines in Ras Ghareb within the Red Sea Governorate along the shore of the Gulf of Suez, located 200 kilometres southeast of Cairo, Egypt.

In this latest project expansion, an additional 20 wind turbines on the site will be installed to increase the capacity by 150 megawatts. They will be operated along with the existing turbines as a single wind farm.

The power will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25-year power purchase agreement ( PPA ). The Ministry of Finance of Egypt has issued a guarantee for the PPA.

The combined 650MW wind farm with 104 turbines will be the largest wind farm in Africa in terms of installed capacity.

The Egyptian government has set a target to increase the share of renewables in the national energy mix to 42% by 2030.