Egypt Doubles Power Sector Spending to $2.8 Billion in 2026 Development Plan
The Egyptian government has allocated $2.8 billion to the electricity and renewable energy sector in its 2025-26 development plan, nearly doubling last year's allocation of $1.4 billion.
Egypt has significantly increased its spending on the electricity and renewable energy sector for the fiscal years 2025-26, as per the Ministry of Planning's latest development plan.
The country is allocating 136.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.8 billion) to this sector, marking a substantial growth from last year's budget of 72.6 billion pounds.
This move underscores Egypt's commitment to energy diversification and the expansion of renewable power sources to meet rising demand.
The development plan puts a strong emphasis on enhancing the national grid infrastructure to improve electricity access across various production and consumption areas.
With this strategy, the government aims at achieving sustainable development goals, providing high-quality services to its citizens, and continuously improving the quality of electricity supply.
In recent years, Egypt has been making considerable investments in the energy sector.
For instance, it achieved financial closure agreements with Norway's Scatec for a $600 million solar plant and a $1 billion wind project in June.
Similarly, Engie completed the Red Sea Wind project ahead of schedule, adding 650 megawatts to the country's electricity grid.
Egypt has also reaffirmed its commitment to an undersea cable project worth €4 billion ($4.65 billion) with Greece, backed by the EU, to export renewable electricity to Europe.
According to Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, the increase in power sector spending aims at diversifying energy sources, benefiting from renewable resources, enhancing energy efficiency, and planning for future demand.
She further pointed out that investments will also improve access and quality of energy services by encouraging private sector participation through land allocations, expanded licensing, and financing support via development partnerships.
The plan forecasts a significant increase in electricity production over the next few years.
For 2025-26, electricity and renewable energy output is expected to reach 655.6 billion pounds, compared to 285 billion pounds projected for the previous year, reflecting an annual growth rate of 15 to 20 percent.
By 2028-29, this figure is estimated to rise to 984.5 billion pounds.
Egypt's regional integration efforts are also gaining momentum.
The country plans to expand its cross-border interconnection capacity from 780 MW today to 3,900 MW by 2025/2026.
This includes upgraded links with Jordan, Libya, and Sudan, as well as a 1,650-km undersea cable project with Greece and Cyprus.
On the renewables front, clean energy is expected to contribute nearly 20 percent of total production by 2025-26, compared to 12 percent in 2023-24.
The plan also outlines the expansion of solar and wind capacity to 6,470 MW supported by an allocation of 2,900 square kilometers of land.
To improve grid infrastructure and enhance energy efficiency, technical assistance programs worth 37 million and 33 million pounds have been initiated with the French Development Agency.
Additionally, a €54 million EU-funded grid enhancement project has been launched to expand the capacity of electricity transmission lines in selected substations.
The country is allocating 136.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.8 billion) to this sector, marking a substantial growth from last year's budget of 72.6 billion pounds.
This move underscores Egypt's commitment to energy diversification and the expansion of renewable power sources to meet rising demand.
The development plan puts a strong emphasis on enhancing the national grid infrastructure to improve electricity access across various production and consumption areas.
With this strategy, the government aims at achieving sustainable development goals, providing high-quality services to its citizens, and continuously improving the quality of electricity supply.
In recent years, Egypt has been making considerable investments in the energy sector.
For instance, it achieved financial closure agreements with Norway's Scatec for a $600 million solar plant and a $1 billion wind project in June.
Similarly, Engie completed the Red Sea Wind project ahead of schedule, adding 650 megawatts to the country's electricity grid.
Egypt has also reaffirmed its commitment to an undersea cable project worth €4 billion ($4.65 billion) with Greece, backed by the EU, to export renewable electricity to Europe.
According to Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, the increase in power sector spending aims at diversifying energy sources, benefiting from renewable resources, enhancing energy efficiency, and planning for future demand.
She further pointed out that investments will also improve access and quality of energy services by encouraging private sector participation through land allocations, expanded licensing, and financing support via development partnerships.
The plan forecasts a significant increase in electricity production over the next few years.
For 2025-26, electricity and renewable energy output is expected to reach 655.6 billion pounds, compared to 285 billion pounds projected for the previous year, reflecting an annual growth rate of 15 to 20 percent.
By 2028-29, this figure is estimated to rise to 984.5 billion pounds.
Egypt's regional integration efforts are also gaining momentum.
The country plans to expand its cross-border interconnection capacity from 780 MW today to 3,900 MW by 2025/2026.
This includes upgraded links with Jordan, Libya, and Sudan, as well as a 1,650-km undersea cable project with Greece and Cyprus.
On the renewables front, clean energy is expected to contribute nearly 20 percent of total production by 2025-26, compared to 12 percent in 2023-24.
The plan also outlines the expansion of solar and wind capacity to 6,470 MW supported by an allocation of 2,900 square kilometers of land.
To improve grid infrastructure and enhance energy efficiency, technical assistance programs worth 37 million and 33 million pounds have been initiated with the French Development Agency.
Additionally, a €54 million EU-funded grid enhancement project has been launched to expand the capacity of electricity transmission lines in selected substations.
