Egypt signs $350mn deals with Saudi Arabia
by Slavka Atanasova on Nov 3, 2014
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Egypt signed $350mn in financing agreements with Saudi Arabia on Saturday to upgrade its power grid and secure imports of petroleum products, Reuters has reported.
Two loan agreements worth a total of about $100mn will be invested in two electricity stations that are expected to boost the capacity of the national grid.
A further $250mn in assistance will come in the form of petroleum products from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia sent Egypt $3bn worth of refined oil products between April and September this year, according to an Egyptian oil official, with the total value of Saudi oil aid since July 2013 ammounting to about $5bn.
Egypt also signed an agreement in September that commits it to purchasing about 65% of its needs from the UAE.
After deep cuts were made to Egypt's energy subsidies in July as the government aimed to curb public spending and fuel waste, the energy prices rose to more than 70%.
Power cuts have become common ever since not enough gas has been supplied to Egypt's power stations, while the country's power grid has continuously suffered from decades of neglect.
Link to source: http://www.arabianoilandgas.com/article/viewArticle/13116
