Latham & Watkins Advises on Financing for Egypt’s Largest Private Solar Plant

Latham & Watkins advised The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Arab Bank on a US$114 million financing package, also involving financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for the construction of ACWA Power Kom Ombo solar power plant, the largest private solar plant in Egypt, Aswan Province. This is in addition to equity bridge loans of up to US$14 million from EBRD and US$33.5 million from Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).

The development of the Kom Ombo solar plant will add 200 MW of energy capacity, increasing the share of renewable energy in Egypt’s energy mix and further promoting private-sector participation in the Egyptian power sector.

The Kom Ombo plant will contribute to the Egyptian government’s target to generate 42 per cent of the country’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035 while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs in Africa.

The Latham team was led by London finance partner David Ziyambi, Dubai counsels Derek McKinley and Marc Makary, and London associates Charlotte Hawkins and Chidi Onyeche. London finance partner Chirag Sanghrajka and London associate Neha Siddiqui advised the equity bridge loan lenders.