CAIRO - Egypt has secured a 300 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank to fund a major power project as the country moves to boost its electricity output, officials said later Thursday. The plant is part of the country's 2007-2012 five-year energy plan, which aims to add 9,200 megawatts to its capacity, set up transformer stations and extend power lines. The North Giza Power Plant, on the outskirts of Cairo, will cost 120 billion Egyptian pounds and is scheduled to start operations by 2014, state-news agency MENA said. "This project is one of Egypt's priorities in the electricity sector in the 2012-2017 plan needed to expand energy infrastructure for social and economic development," Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was quoted as saying. Financing for the project will include an additional 292.6 million euros from the Egyptian Government, $600 million from the World Bank and $30 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development. Egypt, which has about 25,000 megawatts of power capacity, intends to spend $100-120 billion to triple capacity by 2027. In the past week, power consumption has surged as summer temperatures climbed to about 40 degrees Celsius, leading to power outages across several provinces including Cairo, with cuts mostly during the evening. Most of the country gathers at sunset to break the day's fast during Ramadan, often enjoying the company of friends and family late into the night.
