The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide Egypt with $200 million to invest in increasing the energy efficiency of the natural gas transport infrastructure, according to a Wednesday statement by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation. Minister Sahar Nasr signed the investment agreement with the head of Natural Resources at the EBRD Eric Rasmussen on Wednesday to fund increasing the capacity and energy efficiency of the Dahshur gas compressor station. The deal is to accommodate the natural gas produced from newly discovered gas fields ahead of their transport from the north to the centre and south of the country, the petroleum ministry's first deputy Mohamed Abdel-Wahab said. The project will be implemented by the Petroleum Ministry's Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS). The project will also decrease operating costs and fuel imports. Egypt began pumping gas from the Mediterranean's supergiant gas field Zohr last week. Part of the funding will also be allocated to developing the pipeline to transport gas to power plants at the new administrative capital, Abdel-Wahab said. “These are necessary and urgent projects to increase capacity and efficiency of operations of the Dahshur Compressor Station amid the increasing gas discoveries,” the ministry statement read. The EBRD's investments in Egypt recorded 2.7 billion euros in 52 projects in infrastructure, energy, wastewater, and transport. “We are very happy to support Egypt in the development of the gas infrastructure, as the project we are signing today represents a big step forward, which shows that the EBRD is committed to supporting Egypt and sustainable development in [the country],” Rasmussen said. The EBRD will also contribute to installing new gas metres, as a way to push for a more efficient use of energy, he said. The EBRD supported renewable energy projects in Egypt worth $500 million in 2017.
