A consortium of Egyptian and Arab banks will sign Sunday a 10 billion Egyptian pounds (US$1.27 billion) finance contracts for the state-run Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC). The loan will for funding the local component of three anticipated power plants, located in Beni Suef Governorate, Burullus area of Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate, and the new administrative capital. The consortium encompasses ten banks, namely the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr (BM), Commercial International Bank (CIB), QNB Alahli, Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Bank Audi Egypt, AlexBank, Egyptian Gulf Bank (EGB), Ahli United Bank, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). As pursuant to the banking offer, the source near from the talks told Amwal Al Ghad last October that the Egyptian Electricity Holding would be given a three-year grace period and the loan would be paid back over 15 years. The following table demonstrates the banks' contribution to the loan: The Bank Contribution in EGP NBE 1.59 billion Banque Misr 1.59 billion CIB 1.59 billion QNB Alahli 1.59 billion AAIB 1.59 billion Ahli United Bank 500 million NBAD 500 million AlexBank, 350 million Bank Audi Egypt 350 million EGB 350 million Total 10 billion EEHC has agreed with German giant Siemens alongside three local firms, including Orascom Construction and El Sewedy Electric so as to build three power plants working upon the combined-cycle system, with total capacity of 14,400 megawatts in Beni Suef, Burullus, and the new administrative capital. Egypt has been facing an energy crisis for years, with power outages surging in the summer. The peak was during last summer, when power cuts were the most frequent.
