The Ministry of Electricity will on 20 October receive offers for a tender by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) to construct Egypt's first solar operated electrical power plant. The project will be open to both foreign and local investors operating in the private sector, with construction taking place in the city of Kom Ombo in the southern Egyptian province of Aswan. The plant will operate on a build-own-operate (BOO) scheme and produce a total of 200 megawatts of energy. Minister of Electricity Ahmed Imam stated that the new date was set in response to demands made by private companies calling for it to be pushed back in order to allow them to better prepare their presentations. The initial date of 25 July was first pushed back to 30 September, before being rescheduled again for 20 October. A source close to the Ministry of Electricity stated that 23 Egyptian and international companies purchased particulars of sale to take part in the tender. Sha'ban Khalaf, Chairman of the NREA, stated that the plant would employ the use of photovoltaic cells and would consist of 10 electricity power plants, each one with the production capacity of 20 megawatts. He stated that companies with previous experience operating in the solar energy sector would be given preference in the tender, in order to plan, fund, build, operate and repair project facilities according to those frameworks and demands put in place by the government. Land used for the construction of the project will be operated under a usufruct scheme, with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company tasked with purchasing and transporting electricity produced from the power plants to loading centers for a period of up to 20 years. According to a report released by the Ministry of Electricity, the project is part of the Ministry's five-year (2012-2017) solar energy plan. The plan will seek to increase Egypt's energy production by 3,500 megawatts, 2,800 of which will be produced using concentrated solar technology, with the remaining 700 megawatts produced via photovoltaic cells. 67% of the project will be funded by the private sector. Translated from Al Borsa newspaper http://goo.gl/hAJUd7
