Orascom Construction is in negotiations with three international financing institutions over borrowing $50m to fund a 50MW solar power plant in Benban, Aswan, reported Al Mal News.

Orascom’s Executive Director, Khaled Al Degwy, stated that the three banks in talks with the company include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in addition to an unnamed bank.

Al Degwy added that the funding will finance 70% of the project’s total cost, which is estimated between $70m and $75m. The fund will help to establish the power plant under the terms of phase II of the renewable energy purchasing Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) program. Furthermore, the Benban plant will use photovoltaic to transfer solar energy to electricity through the solar panels.

Orascom Construction was chosen along with 136 companies for renewable energy power purchasing agreements. However, the company was not able to finalize financial closure for the first phase of the FiT program due to the withdrawal of international financing institutions because they did not agree to the local arbitration clause.

The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity allowed the companies from phase I of FiT to automatically apply for the second phase of the program. Yet, in the case that  companies could not secure funding with foreign institutions before April 2017 they will be excluded from the project.