Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed a €100m financing agreement on Tuesday with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) aimed at improving the second line of the Cairo metro system, including the addition of 13 new metro cars. The deal, which was previously announced in October, was signed at the Egypt Mega Projects conference in Cairo. "The agreement will help facilitate the life the Egyptian individual," Nasr said. "We cooperated with the EBRD because they have experience in the area of roads and infrastructure". Earlier this month, the EBRD also announced that it will allocate $500m for 2016 to support Egypt's new solar-energy programme. Prior to these announcements, the bank's project portfolio amounted to €739m. In September, the EBRD stated its intention to provide a sovereign loan of up to $200m to finance the construction of a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Damanhour, Beheira. The project aims to provide high-efficiency power to the country and help meet ongoing supply shortages, contributing to the improvement of the power sector's energy efficiency and carbon footprint. The bank also announced a long-term loan of up to EGP 200m to the Egyptian Food Company (Faragello) in August. The loan will be used to partially refinance existing short-term debt and finance permanent working capital requirements. On Sunday, the director of the EBRD in Egypt, Philip ter Woort, said the bank is very committed to ensuring that its activities in support of enterprise are available across the country. "Providing businesses with the tools they need to become more competitive, innovate and grow is important for the sustainable development of the private sector in the country," he said.
