AIIB Will Support 10 GW Renewables Energy in Egypt

Global financial institutions are playing their role to the tee for the development and fast expansion of renewables at COP27. In another such initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced that it has joined development partners in signing a partnership agreement with Egypt to jointly support the country’s efforts to boost renewable energy and stimulate climate action through its country-led program: Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE).

AIIB has signed the agreement with Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of International Cooperation.

The NWFE program consists of three pillars—food, water and energy—with a total investment of about $14.7 billion under Egypt’s National Climate Change Strategy.

AIIB says that it has committed to contribute to the implementation of the NWFE Energy Pillar, which is expected to mobilize at least $10 billion in investments for the installation of 10 GW of solar and wind energy by 2028.

AIIB said the initiative will also include the retirement of 5 GW of inefficient fossil fuel capacity by 2025, leading to a substantial reduction in natural gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, estimated at around 17 million tons of CO2e per year.

Konstantin Limitovskiy, AIIB Vice President for Investment Operations (Region 2),  said, “Egypt is a very important Member of AIIB, connecting Asia and Africa. We are very happy to reinforce our full support by joining the Egyptian Nexus of Food, Water and Energy initiative, which is a model led by the country in addressing climate imperatives.” Limitovskiy added that AIIB has already built a pipeline exceeding $1 billion for Egypt, and the NWFE Partnership presents another opportunity for “our enhanced collaboration.”

On A Robust Path

Egypt plans to enhance its Nationally Determined Contribution by committing to quadruple its installed renewables capacity share to 42 per cent by the end of this decade. It has also committed to expand the use of zero-emission vehicles, sustainable public transport, and other solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

In October, AIIB had also announced that it will hold its eighth Annual Meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt that is expected to take place in September 2023.