Maersk to acquire 51% of Gabal Al-Zafarana wind power station

Maersk International has signed a preliminary agreement with the Egyptian government to acquire 51% of the wind power stations in the Zaafarana complex in Ras Gharib city, Red Sea governorate, sources told Daily News Egypt on Monday. The complex has a total capacity of 545 MW.

The sources said that the company is close to finalizing the deal value and expects to complete the transaction before the end of this year.

The sources added that Maersk’s acquisition is part of a wider strategy to invest $15bn in a clean fuel project, which aims to use the energy generated from the wind farm to produce green fuel. They said that the company has agreed with the Suez Canal Economic Zone on a land plot in Ain Sokhna to establish a clean fuel facility using water, food waste, and other materials. They explained that the investment will be implemented in several phases.

The sources also said that the company is negotiating to buy the Gabel El-Zeit wind power plant, which is among 32 companies in the government’s tender program. The British company Actis has already reached an initial agreement on that plant, competing with three other foreign bids.

The project, which was carried out in cooperation with the Spanish government, consists of three stations: “Gabal El-Zeit 1” with a capacity of 240 MW, “Gabal El-Zeit 2” with a capacity of 220 MW, and “Gabal El-Zeit 3” with a capacity of 120 MW.

In mid-September 2022, the Presidency instructed to start working with Maersk International Group to create an integrated national network in Egypt for producing and distributing green energy and clean fuel for ships, based on new and renewable energy sources. This is in line with the state’s efforts to transition to green energy and protect the environment, and considering the series of modern ports that Egypt has on the coasts of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, as well as the Suez Canal corridor, which is the main artery of global trade.