Orascom Construction Limited announced on Monday that its consortium for a build-own-operate (BOO) 250 MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb, Egypt has reached a "financial close", according to a press release. The Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) will act as the working capital bank, while Morocco's Attijariwafa Bank will provide an equity bridge loan, Orascom added. The consortium comprises OC, France's Engie, and Japan's Toyota Tsusho Corporation/Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation. OC has a 20% stake in the wind farm. "This wind farm is considered the first renewable energy project of its kind and size in Egypt," OC said in a statement, adding that upon the completion of the project's construction, the consortium will operate and maintain the wind farm under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. "Non-recourse project financing is provided by The Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) in coordination with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Société Générale under a Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) cover," OC added. Orascom Construction's profits in the first half of 2017 rose 21.24% to $58.8m, compared to $48.5m in the same period of the previous year, The company is capitalised at EGP 116.76m, distributed across 116.7 million shares, at a par value of EGP 1 per share. In November, Orascom Construction announced that it had signed $1.54bn in contracts across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the US during the first nine months of 2017.
