AfDB Invests US$66 Million in Egypt's 500 MW Dandara Solar and Battery Storage Project

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB) has approved a financing package of up to US$66 million for the first phase of the 500-MW Dandara solar project and a 100 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Qena Governorate, southern Egypt.

The package will support the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a photovoltaic power plant with an integrated BESS. The Bank Group’s financing comprises US$46 million from its ordinary resources and US$20 million in concessional funding from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF), with additional debt to be mobilised from a consortium of development finance institutions. The total project cost is estimated at more than US$290 million. The Aluminium Company of Egypt (EgyptAlum) will be the sole off-taker under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), supported by a wheeling agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). The project is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of 2028 and to generate an estimated 1,373 gigawatt-hours of clean, reliable and cost-effective electricity each year.

The project is aligned with the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033, its Four Cardinal Points strategic vision, and its Country Strategy Paper for Egypt, which aims to increase and sustain access to sustainable energy sources across Africa by catalysing the mobilisation of commercial capital in the power sector.