INTERVIEW

Project Financing for Onshore
Wind Farm Project in Egypt
Supporting Project Involving Japanese Companyby Co-ﬁnancing with IFC and Other Financial Institutions
Interview with OKADA Yuno
Division 2, New Energy and Power Finance Department I,
Infrastructure and Environment Finance GroupThe Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a loan
agreement in project ﬁnancing (PF) amounting to up to USD281
million (JBIC portion) with AMUNET WIND POWER COMPANY
S.A.E. (AMUNET) of Egypt, which is invested in by Sumitomo
Corporation and AMEA Power of the UAE.
The loan is co-ﬁnanced with International FinanceCorporation (IFC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation,
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, and Standard Chartered
Bank, bringing the total co-ﬁnancing amount to USD518 million.
Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provides theinsurance for the loan by the private ﬁnancial institutions.

Contributing toward Egyptʼs Renewable
Energy Transition Policy in Collaboration with
Multilateral Development BankThe Government of Egypt aims to increase the renewable energy
in its energy mix to 35% by 2030 and 42% by 2035 in order toreduce its dependence on thermal power and to achieve a 30%
reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.
In the Tunis Declaration released at the Eighth Tokyo
International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) inAugust 2022, the Government of Japan calls for the promotion ofJapanʼs Green Growth Initiative with Africa (GGA), which aims toachieve structural change toward low GHG emissions and green
growth that reﬂects the diﬀerent circumstances of each Africancountry through public-private partnerships in order to mobilize
ﬁnancial resources in climate adaptation and mitigation, including
collaborations with multilateral development banks.
About the signiﬁcance of the ﬁnancing, OKADA says, “In thisproject, AMUNET, which is jointly invested in by Sumitomo
Corporation and the Emirati renewable energy developer AMEAPower, builds, owns, and operates a 500 MW onshore wind farmin Ras Ghareb within the Red Sea Governorate, 230 km southeastof Cairo, the capital of Egypt. AMUNET will sell the electricity
generated by the wind farm to Egyptian Electricity Transmission
Company for the duration of 25 years. This project will contributeto the GGA as well as the energy transition policy of theGovernment of Egypt. In addition, it is also a part of thecollaboration with the multilateral development bank. In June
2020, JBIC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) withIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to enhance cooperation
between the two organizations. IFC identiﬁes climate change
measures and infrastructure development as key areas of focus
and supports the development of infrastructure, particularlyelectricity, transportation, and water systems. Under the MOU,
IFC and JBIC aim to enhance cooperation for structuring projects
in such sectors as the environment and infrastructure indeveloping regions, including Africa. This project is JBICʼs ﬁrst
co-ﬁnancing with IFC since the signing of the MOU.”

Negotiations during COVID-19 Pandemic
Sumitomo Corporation contacted JBIC for PF support in thesummer of 2020, and JBIC started in-depth consideration in thespring of 2021.
OKADA looks back on the project: “The job included
evaluating the projectʼs proﬁtability, construction risk, andOKADA Yuno
environmental and social considerations and also negotiating thelending conditions. I heard it had been hard to communicate all
this, including negotiations with the sponsors and lenders, on anonline basis.
I joined the project shortly before all the sponsors andlenders gathered in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, in July 2022.
In September, we had another in-person meeting in Tokyo, whereI felt ﬁrsthand the passion of everyone involved in the project, tonegotiate the ﬁnancing conditions. The subsequent meetings
about loan documentation took place online in the early morningor late afternoon, Tokyo time, to ﬁt in the stakeholdersʼ oﬃcehours, and thanks to the face-to-face meeting, we could exchange
candid views, and they understood JBICʼs policy and thoughts.”
On November 27th 2022, the PF loan agreement was signed.
Construction commenced in early 2023 with the aim of completingthe project in 2025.

Supporting Power and Renewable Energy
Development Globally“Sumitomo Corporation is experienced in onshore wind farmprojects in multiple countries, including the U.S., South Africa,and China. In the New Medium-Term Management Plan releasedin May 2021, the company states it aims to double the renewableenergy power generation capacity proportionate to its
shareholding to 3 GW by 2030. It was very meaningful for me asa member of JBIC to be able to support the business of such aJapanese company and quite fruitful to co-ﬁnance the project withIFC.
When I joined JBIC, I was hoping to be involved ininfrastructure projects, particularly in Africa. In my ﬁrst year, I
was in charge of asset management and monitoring andmanaging the construction progress and operational status of thepower projects JBIC had committed to ﬁnancing, and in thesecond year, I was assigned to structure renewable energy
projects in Africa. I am grateful to my senior colleagues, the teamleader, and the members of our Representative Oﬃce in Dubai forsupporting me from the beginning of the negotiations. For threemonths from January 2023, I was training in the RepresentativeOﬃce in Dubai and meeting with the stakeholders of this projecton the ground, which renewed my willingness to support theproject,” says OKADA.
JBIC will continue to provide a wide range of ﬁnancial
support to assist power- and renewable-energy-related
infrastructure projects that involve Japanese companies inenhanced collaboration with not only IFC but also the WorldBank Group, and other public ﬁnancial institutions in Europe,
the U.S., and Asia.