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The hoisting and installation of the core battery energy storage system (BESS) equipment at the Abydos II solar-plus-storage project in Egypt has been completed, according to the project’s EPC contractor.
The project, located in Egypt’s Aswan Governorate, comprises a 1,000-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic plant integrated with a 300 MW / 600 megawatt-hour (MWh) BESS, with total investment estimated at around $700 million.
The scheme is being jointly developed by UAE’s AMEA Power and Japan’s Kyuden International Corporation and forms part of Egypt’s 4 GW Emergency Power Programme.
The project operates under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), backed by a sovereign guarantee from Egypt’s Ministry of Finance.
Energy China International, which leads the EPC consortium, said all core equipment installation for energy storage system were completed on March 16.
Other EPC consortium members include China Energy Engineering Group Zhejiang Thermal Power Construction and Southwest Electric Power Design Institute. The project scope also includes associated auxiliary works for solar PV plant and BESS and construction of a 500 kV substation.
The project is scheduled to reach commercial operation towards the end of the second quarter of 2026.
JA Solar is supplying 1.25 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaic modules, while GameChange Solar is providing tracker systems for the project.
Financing structure
In December 2025, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had announced that it mobilised a $571.8 million debt package for the project company Abydos for Renewable Energy.
This included an $83.5 million direct loan from IFC and $465.2 million mobilised from international lenders, including Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) implementing the Mattei Plan for Africa ($126.97 million), OPEC Fund for International Development ($40 million), $126.5 million from Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), $93.2 million from Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), $37 million from British International Investment (BII), and from Europe Arab Bank (EAB).
The Clean Technology Fund, a programme of the Climate Investment Funds, has extended a concessional senior loan of $20 million, while the MENA Private Sector Development Programme, supported by the Government of the Netherlands, is providing a concessional senior loan of $3.1 million. Both blended finance programmes are managed by IFC.
The Abydos II project is among the largest hybrid solar-plus-storage developments in the region and is expected to support grid stability and accelerate integration of renewable energy into Egypt’s power system.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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