Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP advised the export credit agencies JBIC, NEXI and international and Egyptian lenders on Engie’s bid to develop, construct and operate the multimillion 262.5 MW wind farm, near Port Said in Egypt. Construction will take place for approximately 24 months; upon completion, the consortium will operate and maintain the wind farm for 20 years. The deal closed on December 14, 2017 and is valued at $400 million.
The Gulf of Suez Wind Project is a groundbreaking venture, not only is it the first power sector financing in Egypt since the Arab Spring, this wind farm marks the first renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) project of its kind and size in Egypt and aims at diversifying energy sources in Egypt by depending more on renewable energy. The project is part of the Egyptian plan to generate 20% of the country's electricity from renewables by 2020 and intending to the increase the current 550MW of wind capacity to 7,200 MW and should generate around 650GWh/year, enough to cover the electricity needs of 370,000 Egyptians while avoiding the emissions of around 288 ktCO2eq/year.
The project will contribute to the renewable energy strategy of Egypt, which prioritizes large scale renewable electricity generation in order to realize fossil fuel savings, protection of the environment, the creation of green jobs and technology transfer. It is part of the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy's push to engage private investors in the country’s energy sector, and will be built on a build, own, operate basis (BOO).
The Milbank team was led by Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner John Dewar with lead associate Jenna Darler, assisted by Olivia Anderson and Henry Ellis.
John Dewar said: “Our appointment to advise the lenders on this first-of-its-kind project demonstrates how Milbank is the ‘go-to’ firm for innovative and groundbreaking IPP transactions. The Gulf of Suez financing adds to Milbank’s well-established prominence in both the renewables sector and the Middle East/North Africa region.”
