Egypt will sign three concessional loan agreements with Japan and one with South Korea worth a total of $575m to finance projects in energy and transportation, Al Bawaba wrote. The loan agreement comes as a result of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s official tour to Asia.

The loans will be at interest rates of less than 1%, expected to be repaid over a period of 50 years, including a 10-year grace period, according to Trade Arabia.

Japan’s lending package includes $305m to boost the capacity of three state-owned electricity distribution companies and cover the costs for the construction of a 20MW photovoltaic station in the coastal city of Hurghada on the Red Sea, in addition to a $155m loan to expand Egypt’s Borg Al-Arab airport. “Egypt will also negotiate with Japan preliminary financial pledges of $335m for power generation projects and $482m for the ongoing construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza,” unnamed official sources were quoted as saying in media.

Seoul will witness the signing of its first loan to Cairo worth $115m to finance an upgrade of the railway signaling system between the Qena and Luxor governorates in Upper Egypt.