Egypt - Electricity and Green Growth Support Program (EGGSP) - Phase I

The Electricity and Green Growth Support Program (EGGSP) is designed as a programmatic series of two consecutive Sector Budget Support (SBS) operations over the financial years (FY) 2019/20 – 2020/21 for a total indicative financing package of EUR 450 million. The proposed operation is an ADB sovereign loan of two hundred and twenty-five million Euros (EUR 225 million) to the Arab Republic of Egypt to finance the first phase. EGGSP will support the government in maintaining the reform momentum to limit the deterioration of macroeconomic balances and create additional fiscal space that enables it to expand social spending, especially on health for combating COVID-19, and deploy further protection measures to alleviate poverty and socioeconomic hardship. Specifically, the program will support enhancing the resilience of the power sector and deepening private sector participation for fulfilling the interconnected goals of the country’s energy strategy for ensuring security of energy supply through enhanced sustainability, governance and competition. EGGSP comprises two components that have been selected based on the current priorities for the next steps in the electricity sector reform agenda. The two components complement each other by improving the financial position and competitiveness of the electricity sector to help attract more private investment in clean energy and energy efficiency for promoting climate change mitigation, green and sustainable growth. Its implementation is expected to contribute to Egypt’s aspirations for becoming a regional energy hub by improving the security of energy supply and enhancing sector competitiveness.