A public meeting is set to be held this Tuesday in the Kom Ombo region of Aswan, to discuss the establishment of Upper Egypt's first solar energy electricity station. Ahmed Imam, minister of electricity and energy, stated on Friday that construction of the 100 megawatt station is expected to cost EGP 5.5bn, and will be funded by a number of international financial institutions, including the Clean Energy Fund, The World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Agence Francaise de Developpement, in addition to the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau. He added that the construction of the plant would create thousands of job opportunities for residents of the region, and would help aid efforts to promote clean, sustainable economic development in Upper Egypt. He went on to say that construction of the project, set to begin in 2016, was considered by many to be a quantum leap for the city of Kom Ombo. Imam added that the construction of the project came amidst efforts to increase and encourage the consumption of solar energy throughout Egypt. He pointed out that the station would operate at 140 megawatts, and was part of a plan to utilise, harness and exploit the cultivation of clean and renewable energy in Egypt.
