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Al Nowais Investments, the privately-owned Abu Dhabi-based group, is planning new investments in Egypt’s power and tourism sectors within the next few months, according to chairman Hussain Al Nowais.
Speaking to Zawya in a phone interview last week, Al Nowais said that a contract for the proposed 2,650 megawatt Oyoun Moussa clean coal-fired power station would be signed with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) within the current quarter.
“This power plant is a part of our plan to invest in Egypt's energy sector," Al Nowais said. He added that the plant would be built in three phases over the next four years, with the first phase providing 1,320 megawatts of electricity. The project was first announced in 2015 at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, but negotiations over the power purchasing agreement have been protracted.
However, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company agreed to sign an agreement to purchase power from the plant at a value of 4.01 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to a recent statement from the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy. The contracts will be signed within the first quarter, Al Nowais said.
Al Nowais Group will provide 70 percent of the capital, and said there were discussions with investors in Singapore, South Korea, China and Egypt to fund the remaining 30 percent of the plant. HSBC is the financial advisor for the project.
Al Nowais also said that its real estate and hotel management arms “will pump new investments to implement and operate the new 200-room, five-star hotel in New Cairo”.
The hotel was announced last year and is scheduled to be completed by 2021.
“We also plan to develop our five star hotel in Sharm El-Shiekh, on the Red Sea, and raise its room capacity,” Al Nowais said.
Room capacity at the Grand Rotana resort hotel is set to increase to more than 500 within the next two months.
“We plan to have a Rotana managed property in more than 105 major cities throughout the Middle East, Africa, South Asia & Eastern Europe by 2020," Al Nowais added.
Al Nowais Investments is a group of companies operating in a variety of sectors including engineering and construction, oilfield services, healthcare, hospitality and information technology.
(Reporting by Marwa Abo Almajd; Editing by Michael Fahy)
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