Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") and its group company Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation ("Eurus Energy") announce today they have signed to build, own, and operate a 262.5 MW wind power plant in the Arab Republic of Egypt ("Egypt"). Under an independent power producer (IPP) scheme, the companies will operate the plant and sell generated electricity for 20 years after completion of construction. Construction is expected to take two years from the project start at the end of 2017, with commercial power sales beginning in December 2019. This marks Egypt's first-ever wind power IPP project.

Egypt’s electricity demand is expected to continue growing at a stable rate, requiring the construction of new power plants and expansion of existing sites to keep pace with growth. Egypt currently relies on thermal power plants for most of its power needs. The Egyptian government has promoted the introduction of renewable energies to better balance its energy mix, with a target of increasing the ratio of power generation from renewable sources up to 20% of the total generation by 2022.

Toyota Tsusho and Eurus Energy are managing the project through a joint-venture company, Ras Ghareb Wind Energy SAE (“Ras Ghareb Wind Energy” together with French independent power company Engie S.A. (“Engie”) and construction company Orascom Construction SAE. The total project cost is estimated at US$400 million, approximately 60% of which will be funded through loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The remaining approximately 40% of the loans is expected to be provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Societe Generale, Tokyo Branch. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) will provide overseas untied loan insurance. The planned site of the power plant on the Gulf of El Zayt, along the coast of the Gulf of Suez, boasts excellent year-round wind conditions. The new plant will leverage the advantageous wind conditions and location to optimize power generation and contribute to Egypt’s introduction and expansion of renewable energies through green, low-cost wind power.

Toyota Tsusho began a cotton trading business in Egypt in 1922 and has promoted a diverse range of businesses in the country for more than 90 years since then. Toyota Tsusho began developing its electric power business in Egypt in the 1990s with the construction of power plants and substations to contribute to stable power supply generation. This is the first wind power project in Egypt for both Toyota Tsusho and Eurus Energy.

Through this project, Toyota Tsusho will contribute to stable power supply and economic development in Egypt while meeting the high demand in the renewable energy field in collaboration with Eurus Energy, which operates solar and wind power plants around the world.