CAIRO: The Egyptian government and the World Bank are looking to increase their electricity cooperation to tackle the country's growing energy shortages. Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis met with visiting World Bank Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa Shamshad Akhtar last week to discuss ways the World Bank can help buttress Egypt's power sector, a statement from the ministry said. The ministry and the WB recently signed an agreement to finance a 1,500-megawatt North Giza power plant with $600 million. The World Bank also offered $220 million to fund a project on developing the national power grid, Younis said. The WB will also offer 270 million dollars in contribution to a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Kom Ombo, including 100 million dollars offered by the WB's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and a 170-million-dollar loan by the WB, he said. Egypt has been hit with a number of blackouts in recent months, most notably during Ramadan in September, where millions of Egyptians were left without power for hours when they attempted to break the sunrise to sunset fast. According to the World Bank, Egypt must “increase its electricity output to meet the growing needs of its population.” The organization said it was ready to help the government through joint ventures to boost production and build new facilities. BM
