OREANDA-NEWS. On the occasion of  the State Visit of President François Hollande of the French Republic to Egypt, Isabelle Kocher, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of ENGIE, has signed today two energy agreements.

Firstly, a cooperation agreement for further development of renewable energy with the National Renewable Energy Association (NREA) and the Egyptian Electricity Transport Company (EETC). ENGIE and its partners are already conducting a number of renewable energy projects in Egypt such as the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of 2 x 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Benban under the FIT (Feed-in-Tarif) program, the 2 x 50 MW wind project FIT “Ras Ghareb” and the “West of Nile” complex where ENGIE has prequalified for wind, solar PV and Concentrated Solar Power Build-Own-Operate projects.

All these projects are part of the Government’s ambition to promote the development of renewable electricity and to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to 20% by 2022. Such renewable initiative also aims to address the tension between electricity demand and supply in Egypt, and to diversify Egypt’s energy mix.

Furthermore, on April 18, ENGIE and the Egyptian national company EGAS, under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, executed a cooperation agreement on LNG importation to Egypt. As a long lasting partner of the local gas industry, ENGIE will thus contribute to supplying Egypt’s gas market.

In Egypt, ENGIE is also keen to develop its energy services activities and its offer for sustainable cities, taking the opportunity of the Government’s  “New Cairo” and “New urban planning of Suez canal area” programs. Besides, in the Gulf of Suez, ENGIE is conducting, with its partners Orascom and Toyota Tsusho, a  250 MW BOO (Build-Own-Operate) wind project.