Financing will be sourced from two specialized Bank Group funds and the Climate Investment Funds' Clean Technology Fund
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 12, 2025/APO Group/ --
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a financing package of up to $184.1 million to support the development of the Obelisk 1-gigawatt solar photovoltaic project and 200MWh battery energy storage system in Egypt, which will be Africa’s largest solar power plant.
Located in Qena Governorate in southern Egypt, the project entails the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a photovoltaic power plant with an integrated battery energy storage system. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will be the sole off-taker under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The project’s total cost is estimated at more than $590 million. The Bank Group’s financing package includes $125.5 million of ordinary resources, as well as concessional funding from Bank Group-managed Special Funds the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) worth $20 million, and the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund ($18.6 million), a partnership of the Bank Group and the Government of Canada. A further $20 million will come from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund, with additional financing to be mobilized from a consortium of development finance institutions.
Under Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) platform, Obelisk has been granted a Golden License by the government, which recognizes it as a strategic initiative that will contribute to addressing Egypt’s energy constraints and advancing its energy transition.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, said “the Obelisk solar project is another important milestone for Egypt under the energy pillar of the NWFE program which has since its launch in November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh delivered 4.2 GW of privately financed renewable energy investments, worth about $4 billion, with the support of partners such as the Africa Development Bank. The goal of NWFE’s energy pillar is to add 10 GW of renewable energy capacity with investments of approximately $10 billion, and phase out 5 GW of fossil fuel power generation by 2030.”
The project, expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2026, will generate an estimated 2,772 gigawatt-hours of clean, reliable, and affordable energy annually to the national grid. The battery energy storage system will help meet peak evening demand with renewable power while also mitigating the variability of solar power generation. The project is expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by approximately one million tons and create about 4,000 jobs during construction and 50 permanent jobs during operation, with a special focus on women and youth employment.
“Obelisk is another landmark development under NWFE that leverages on Egypt’s and the African Development Bank’s leadership as well as commitment to harnessing the country’s renewable energy to enhance the resilience of the country’s energy supply to meet its fast-growing energy demand sustainably,” said Kevin Kariuki, African Development Bank Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth. “This project also contributes to Egypt’s ambition of producing 42 percent of its power generation capacity from renewable energy sources by 2030 while spurring economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,”
Ambassador of Canada to the Arab Republic of Egypt Ulric Shannon said: “Canada is proud to support solar energy development in Egypt. This initiative is a meaningful step toward enhancing energy security and stability, with direct benefits for the Egyptian people. We are pleased to collaborate with the African Development Bank and other partners in supporting Egypt’s transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy.”
The Obelisk Solar Project aligns with the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, its New Deal on Energy for Africa, and its Country Strategy Paper for Egypt as well as SEFA’s strategic framework which aims to accelerate African countries energy transition by increasing the share of renewables and catalyzing commercial capital mobilization in the power sector. The project also advances Egypt’s commitment to achieve 42 percent generation capacity from renewable energy sources by 2030.
“This project exploits the abundant renewable energy potential in Africa and demonstrates how strong partnerships and innovative solutions contribute to balancing three core objectives in the energy sector, namely energy security, affordability, and sustainable economic development,” said Wale Shonibare, Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy, and Regulation at the African Development Bank. “It has high potential for replicability across the continent.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
This Rayale is out off control I'm telling you, Somalilanders need to remove his old incompetent regime and give someone else ago, I'm tired of this useless guy and his old qat addict ministers. Bunch of useless morons, they think been government is going around to arrest people and meeting foreign delegations to beg, what an idiots they never been to school.
I fully agree with you Kayse. these are people unable to get any other jobs either within Somaliland itself or abroad. they are uneducated and deceitful.
what should we do as young Somalilanders? the country belongs to us younger people.
Abdi Mohamed. London
Yes it's true the country belongs to us, I was never a fan of these old guys and their khat habits too. I think any thing is better than Rayale even Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Mogadishu. Rayale is the most inept leader Somaliland has seen the guy is sleep walking, I dont even know what kind of people consider him a president. He is not my president but I respect the majority's choice but I think his time has ran out, he got exposed.
Time for a change, the reason Somaliland is not recognized is because of Rayale's stooge regime, bunch of statues.
People get a new leader, Rayale is old and over. Lets dust our hands.
i am really am tired of this guy riyale and his regime, walahi if we don't do something now things will only get worse! we really do need to start doing something instead of just watching him mess the country up.
we the younger somalis need to start writing letters to the government and holding demonstrations against them!
walahi they are uselles, we have proven gas and oil reserves and it still hasn't been drilled. they just sit their and steal the money and chew qat.
they just suck up to the white governments and they still don't get jack form them. why don't these fools start doing business with the chinese to get our oil and gas drillled so that our people can have jobs and our country can get developed?
they really do need to go and they need to go in the next election and if they delay it then we need to get rid of them by force! for real!
i agree with u all and the country belongs to us so we have to do something to stop riyaale before he distroy the country
where as puntland is working hard in 2009 for the lost precious time in between 2006 and 2008, i can tell the progress of somaliland has gone somewhat slower then the previous years, rayaale made some tactical mistakes, …even though that move that he made to capture laas canood when puntland army and finance was in mogadishu was quit a move, ,,,,even though he is again mobilizing a section of the somaliland army which is stationed in laas canood to awdal/gabiley area …….. can u hear the faqash sound marching towards laas canood with general ilkajeer upfront
We all agree that RIYAALE should go, but How he should be thrown out?
it is not that simple to get rid off Riyale's government with force.. because this simply means a civil war which I don’t think we are looking for curently, we all know that Riyale is bad and the worse to come so in my opinion it is always better for somalilanders to elect riyale again coz I think he and his fellows done with somaliland robbery and if they have dignity left they should focus on Somaliland recognition and get it as soon as possible also I believe the other 2 parties are the same if not worse.
but if we elect the other party i think they will take at least 5 years to finish the same robbery as Riyale's goverment did. Logic.. waa somali .. deentoodunaa waa lacaq ..:)
Riyaale has got to go. If not, there will be another civil war. How can people accept this? Why are there no peaceful demonstrations for an election? He has done nothing for Somaliland. No recognition, no development and a reversal of the democratic process. Somaliland was regarded as ' Africa's best kept secret'. But now stories are all over the press about killings, arrests and continual postponement of elections.
Riyaale has to be impeached.
I think Somaliland has given him a fair go, it's time for him to go! When Egal past away people accepted him and respected the constitution but he is not doing the same once again we get a politician who is over staying – this is why I feel some times its not good to give everyone ago.
It's over he had 7 years, I was even a supporter of him but people get bored with old things, time to reinvent, renew, replace, relaunch. Rayale you are fired!
Please ,do not make a quick judgement on this issue, we do not know who is at fault here, whether the Government of Riyale or European Unions themself. Why are Interpeace are coming with this nonsense when they know the presidential election is very close? By demanding the removal of National election commissioners of sovernate state, how where appointed by the three parties and the upper house they are crossing the line, and Somaliland as a nation should't accept this.
Secondly, if these two commissioners are removed, there is no way election can be held on time Sept. 27th of this year. that means another pospondment, then who will be blamed?
Even though I'm not supporting any candidate for now, what interpeace and European uninion are doing, is denying the existance of Somaliland state, they should accept what we have now or get the hell out of our country.
No one is calling for violent removal of Rayale and his regime, we cant remove everyone by force every time, we as people have to come together and decide it peacefully and right now Rayale's usefullness seems to have ended so it's time for a new commander-in-chief to take over.
Im not afraid for civil war between the people of Somaliland, I'm afraid for civil war within Rayale's party. There are few good men in his cabinet that will refuse to support him and we will see it.
Guys. Guys. Stop with this Somali/Somalia business of yours especially Yonis who puts Somaliland and Somalia together we are two different countries. On this issue, I believe the government has no other choice but to fire the corrupt and incompetent election commision chairman and deputy chairman, the two men embezzeled large sums of donor money designated for the registration process and failed to provide the donors with accounts of where the money was spent or even receipts. Lets be fair here, they these men are corrupt to the core and are in bed with the government of equally failed leader Dahir Riyale Kahin whose term expired long ago and is planning to postpone the elections again. The youth of Somaliland need to get together and reclaim power from these oldmen who failed us in everyway imaganable