Abydos Solar II (IFC-50309)

Regions
  • Middle East and North Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Egypt
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Al Raqaba Foaniyeh and Al Raqaba Tahtaniyeh in the Aswan Governorate
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 31, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Abydos for Renewable Energy SAE (AMEA Power Ltd.)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 120.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 120.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 750.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 11, 2025

Disclosed by Bank May 2, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the IFC, the ABYDOS II project will be Egypt’s largest solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The project consists of the development, construction, operation and maintenance of a 1GW solar PV power plant and 600 MWh BESS (the Project), located in Aswan Governorate, Egypt.

The project will be developed on approximately 20km2 of government-owned land adjacent to Luxor-Aswan Highway. The Project is also planned to comprise of:

(i)144 Central inverter stations to convert electricity from the panels from Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) to be connected to a substation through underground cables;
(ii) a substation for connection with the High Voltage National Grid (from 33kV or 22kV depending on final design to a 500kV);
(iii) an integrated control system and Energy Management System (EMS) for efficient BESS operation;
(iv) infrastructure including offices and a control building (including data, control and voice communication system);
(v) a warehouse;
(vi) a road network including internal access roads and a security perimeter road; and
(vii) a security fence surrounding the entire site.

During the construction phase, the Project will also include storage areas, a mobile concrete batching plant and generators. There will also be an Overhead Transmission Line (OHTL) of approximately 1.6 kilometers connecting the National Grid to the Project’s substation, which will be constructed by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), who are also the offtaker and grid operator.
The OHTL is considered an Associated Facility (AF) as per IFC Performance Standard.  An Addendum to the project Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), aligned with IFC Performance Standards (PS), will be developed once EETC confirms the route of the OHTL.  

This is a greenfield project situated in government-owned vacant desert land about 1km east of the Luxor-Aswan Highway, allocated to the New Renewable Energy Agency (NREA) in 2017, for the development of renewable energy projects. A usufruct agreement was signed between NREA and Abydos for Renewable Energy SAE, together with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 25 years between EETC and Abydos for Renewable Energy SAE. No human habitation, grazing, or agriculture was observed on, or adjacent to, the site. The closest communities to the project site are Al Raqaba Foaniyeh and Al Raqaba Tahtaniyeh in the Aswan Governorate, which are located approximately 6.5 kilometers away. The construction phase is anticipated to take about 17 months. The Equipment, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor has been selected and were given the notice to proceed in January 2025. At the time of the appraisal, topographical and pullout surveys were being undertaken and the project is expected to be operational by end May 2026.  

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

As stated by the IFC, the total project cost is estimated at around US$750 million. IFC is considering a i) A Loan of up to US$120 million; and ii) US$ interest rate swaps representing an expected positive exposure of up to US$15 million. In addition, IFC is expected to mobilize up to US$480 million in the form of B and Parallel loans.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the IFC, the project is being implemented by the Abydos for Renewable Energy SAE, a special purpose vehicle wholly owned by AMEA Power Ltd. Established in 2016, AMEA develops, owns, and operates renewable power projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. AMEA Power is a subsidiary of Al Nowais Investments, ultimately owned by the Al Nowais family in the United Arab Emirates.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company Buyer Energy contracts with AMEA Power Limited Client Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: +1 202-473-3800
Fax: +1 202-974-4384

Client - AMEA Power Limited:

Aqueel Bohra - Chief Investment Officer
Phone: +971 43107000
Email: notices@ameapower.com
Address: 3301, Marina Plaza Building, Dubai, Marina, Dubai
Website: www.ameapower.com 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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