CAIRO: Italgen Group will pump investments worth around €140 million in Egypt to be allocated to wind-generated energy projects in Gabal El Zeit area with a capacity of 120 megawatts. Managing Director of Italgen, Giuseppe De Beni, said on Saturday that his group, which operates in 22 world countries, is ready to offer contributions to “new Egypt”, voicing confidence that the new phase Egypt is going through is going to create the best and most dynamic environment for investment and business. 280 MWs of solar power plan Egypt will produce 280 megawatts (MWs) of solar power under a five-year development plan, according to Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Yunis. The Supreme Council of Energy has already approved the ministry's plans to expand projects that depend on harnessing solar energy, he said. The projects included in the 2012/20117 plan are connected with the Kom Umbo and Hurgada solar power stations and the Koraymat power plant. Japan is already helping Egypt in carrying out feasibility studies for the Hurghada station whose capacity is expected to stand at 20 MWs. International financing institutions have promised Egypt $440 million to assist in building the 100 MW-Kom Umbo station in Aswan, the minister said, noting that the project's entire cost is estimated at four billion pounds. Pilot operations are under way at Koryamat solar/thermal plant, he said, pointing out that the project will be ready to go into commercial operation by mid-June. Investments at the Solar Thermal Project – Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (ISCC) in Koraymat, about 90 kilometers south of Cairo on the eastern side of the River Nile are estimated at two billion pounds. The plant, the fourth of its kind in the world, comprises two gas turbines of about 40 MWs each. The expected overall capacity of the environment-friendly project is 140 MWs. BM
