Egypt and EU join forces on €690 million clean-energy grid investment

• The partnership will modernise the national electricity network and accelerate renewable-energy integration in the context of the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean-Tech Cooperation Initiative (T-MED), a flagship initiative of the Pact for the Mediterranean
• Financing package combines a €600 million EIB Global loan with up to €90 million in EU grants, supporting a national programme led by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company
• Investment will help integrate solar and wind power, improve grid reliability, and support the country’s role as a regional clean-energy hub

Egypt and the European Union are deepening their strategic partnership in the field of renewable energy with a financing package of up to €690 million to upgrade and expand the Egyptian electricity network. The package combines a €600 million loan from the European Investment Bank’s development arm, EIB Global, with up to €90 million in grants by the European Commission.

Led by the state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), this project aims to integrate a total of 22 gigawatts (GW) of renewable-energy capacity into the grid by 2030, enough to supply around 10 million households with electricity.

The investment supports national energy priorities and the ambition to expand renewable energy, strengthen electricity infrastructure and enhance the country’s role as a regional energy hub. It also advances the objectives of the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, including investment mobilisation, renewable energy cooperation and the transition to a more sustainable, secure and competitive energy system.

“This agreement reflects the strength of the partnership between Egypt and the European Union and our shared determination to advance the green transition,” said H.E. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates. “Together with the EIB and the EU, we are taking an important step to modernise our electricity network, strengthen energy security and create new opportunities for sustainable growth. This is the kind of practical cooperation that brings real benefits to our economy and our people.”

The project is one of the first concrete operations under the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean-Tech Cooperation Initiative, (T-MED), a flagship of the Pact for the Mediterranean, to support renewable energy and clean-tech cooperation between the European Union and its southern Mediterranean partners.

“The Pact for the Mediterranean keeps delivering,” said European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica. “Under its newly launched flagship initiative, T-MED, today we presented a major EU-supported project to strengthen and expand Egypt’s electricity infrastructure. This will reinforce Egypt’s role in the regional energy markets and create major business opportunities for local and European companies. It is another testimony of our shared commitment to sustainable growth, energy security and long-term prosperity in the Mediterranean.”

“This project is a very concrete example of what the partnership between Egypt and the European Union can achieve,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti. “By working together, Egypt, the EU and the EIB are supporting the expansion and modernisation of the electricity network, unlocking more renewable energy and strengthening the country’s role as a regional energy hub. For the EIB, this is about backing sustainable growth, greater energy resilience and better opportunities for people and businesses across the country.”

The programme includes the construction of state-of-the-art substations and the installation of advanced transmission lines to integrate solar and wind power generated in the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez regions into the national grid. The investments are expected to reduce transmission losses, improve electricity reliability, strengthen energy security and support sustainable economic development. They will also contribute to regional electricity cooperation and future clean-energy trade and integration across the Mediterranean.

The EU financing package represents 44% of the total cost of the programme, with the remaining financing provided by EETC’s own funds. This shared financing structure reflects the joint commitment of Egypt and its European partners to deliver long-term investment in clean, reliable and resilient energy infrastructure. The EIB-supported phase will be carried out between 2027 and 2030. The government will act as borrower through the Central Bank of Egypt, while EETC will lead implementation as part of wider efforts to modernise the national electricity system.

Background information

The EIB Group

The European Investment Bank (ElB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union.

Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructures, the EIB Group crowds-in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium size businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilizes private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

EIB Global

EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international win-win partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Team Europe and the Global Gateway strategy. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through some 30 offices across the world outside the EU.

Global Gateway

Global Gateway is the EU's strategy to promote smart, clean, and secure connections in the digital, energy, and transport sectors, while strengthening health, education, and research systems worldwide. It’s the EU contribution to narrowing the global investment gap accompanying the social and just green and digital transitions beyond European borders and boosting competitiveness and security of global supply chains.

Global Gateway is a way to connect Europe and partners across the globe, based on trust, sustainability and mutual interest. It provides investments for transformative, large-scale projects, while offering a respectful and qualitative partnership to our partner countries in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

By 2027, Global Gateway aims to mobilise up to €400 billion in investments worldwide by pooling the resources of Team Europe, which brings together the EU, its Member States, financial and development institutions, and European businesses. All Global Gateway projects are designed together with our partners on how best they can benefit from our investment offer to ensure that the results improve their necessary infrastructure and connectivity.

The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy and Clean-Tech Cooperation Initiative (T-MED) will be an important contribution to Global Gateway in the Mediterranean in the field of renewable Energy and Clean-Tech Cooperation. It will support clean, secure and affordable energy, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and create new opportunities for investment, skills and jobs on both sides of the Mediterranean.