Clifford Chance represented AMEA Power on US$1.1 billion projects in Egypt

Clifford Chance represented AMEA Power on US$1.1 billion projects in Egypt

Clifford Chance advised AMEA Power, one of the Middle East's fastest growing renewable energy companies, on transactions to deploy 1GW of renewable energy projects in Egypt. It includes a 500MW solar PV plant and a 500MW wind farm. The historic projects represent a US$1.1 billion investment in the Egyptian economy and bring the company's clean energy portfolio in the country to 2GW.

The 500MW solar PV plant in the Aswan governorate of Egypt will be built, owned and operated by AMEA Power and funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – part of the World Bank Group, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Red Sea Governorate is home to the 500MW wind farm, which is projected to be the biggest in Africa. It is being developed in collaboration with Sumitomo Corporation, who will hold a 40% equity stake in the venture. A consortium of banks, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and IFC, as well as Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, are the co-lenders providing funds under Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) cover.

The projects will support Egypt's renewable energy ambitions as well as the region's economic and social development. The Egyptian government is attempting to boost the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources to 42% by 2035.

AMEA Power also officially signed a Framework Agreement with the Egyptian Government on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, to establish a large-scale green hydrogen project that will function as a feedstock for the production of green ammonia. The 1GW plant will have the ability to generate 800,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually for export once it is finished.

The Clifford Chance team that advised AMEA Power was headed by Mohamed Hamra-Krouha (partner) and supported by counsels Igor Bichenkov, Inaamul Laher and Cheuk-yin Cheung, Senior Associate – Anna Cornelius and associates Gaurav Sharma, Vany Attarian, Mahmoud Elbanhawi and trainees Aishah Bashir and Malek Arab.