CAIRO: Dr. Hassan Younis, Minister of Electricity and Energy, signed a loan agreement provided by the Saudi Fund for Development at the Council of Ministers headquarters in the presence of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga. The loan will provide about 300 million pounds to help finance a power station. The Minister of Electricity and Energy said the station is a five-year project planned for 2012-2017. The plant will use combined cycle technology, which produces three times the energy without using fuel. Younis also said the plant is expected to start operating a simplified cycle in April 2013, while the combined cycle will begin in January 2014. Younis said the estimated cost of the project is 4,450 million pounds and is co-financed by the Saudi Fund for Development, the Arab Fund for Development, the Kuwait Fund, the Abu Dhabi Fund, the OPEC Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, as well as the Middle Delta Electricity Production Company.