JEDDAH: The Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) and the Egyptian government signed in Cairo on Tuesday three deals under which the Jeddah-based bank will offer financial services amounting in value to $120 million to Egypt. The documents were signed by Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Abul-Naja and IDB Board Chairman Ahmed Mohammad Ali with Prime Minister Ahmad Mohammad Nazif and Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Ahmad Younis attending. The funds will be mainly channeled to the project to launch a combined cycle power generating station in Banha, northwest Cairo, with a capacity of 750 megawatts. The planned station will use both steam generators and gas turbines to generate hot combustion gases, then the oxygen-containing gases from the turbines will used to support combustion of the fuel in the steam generator. “It aims to make better use of the country's gas resources, meet the growing demand on clean low-cost energy and improve environment, Younis told reporters at the signing ceremony. “The total cost of the station tops $806 million of which $235 million will be covered by the government and $30 will provided by the Middle Delta Electricity Production Co. - the developer of the project,” the minister said. The documents also include a Sharia-compliant $10 million-worth loan for backing the medium and small enterprises in Egypt. Nazif received the IDB chief to mull the plans for future cooperation and the bank's role in the Egyptian economic development. The prime minister welcomed the IDB decision to choose Cairo as seat of its regional the North Africa region.
