5 Global Companies Considering Acquisition of Jabal El-Zeit Wind Farm in Egypt

SadaNews - Five global investment companies have begun a due diligence examination in preparation for acquiring the Jabal El-Zeit wind farm located on the Red Sea coast in Egypt, according to a government official.

The official's statements come about 48 hours after Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchok told "Asharq" that Egypt intends to return to the government offerings program before the end of 2025, starting with the renewable energy sector, followed by finalizing 3 to 4 more exit deals before the end of June 2026.

The Renewable Energy in the Government Offerings Program

According to the initial draft of the government offerings program, Egypt aims to exit from the Jabal El-Zeit wind farm on the Red Sea coast and the Siemens power plant in Beni Suef Governorate, although the minister did not specify the name of the plant that will be offered.

The official clarified that the list of companies includes Saudi "ACWA Power", British "Actis", and UAE's "Alcazar", in addition to a Malaysian company and a European entity whose name has not been disclosed.

He added: "The companies have until the end of October to submit their bids."

The capacity of the Zaafarana wind power plant is 545 megawatts, and the project was implemented in several phases starting from 2001 through governmental cooperation protocols with Germany, Denmark, Spain, and Japan. Meanwhile, the capacity of Jabal El-Zeit wind projects is 580 megawatts, including Jabal El-Zeit 1 with a capacity of 240 megawatts, Jabal El-Zeit 2 with a capacity of 220 megawatts, and Jabal El-Zeit 3 with a capacity of 120 megawatts. These were implemented in cooperation with the Spanish government.

The Government Aims to Open Space for the Private Sector

The current negotiations are part of the Egyptian government's plan to exit from some of its assets in companies, projects, and lands, aiming to provide more space for the private sector in the economy.

Egypt owns around 561 companies operating in 18 economic activities as of July 2, 2025, distributed among 45 entities, including 19 ministries and 10 other authorities in 16 governorates, according to official government data reviewed by "Asharq".

These developments come as Cairo awaits the results of the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt's support program, which have been merged into a single review scheduled for this fall, according to Egyptian officials who spoke to "Asharq" earlier this year.

According to government data, Egypt has raised approximately $5.8 billion from the offerings program from June 2022 to June 2025, which is equivalent to 47.5% of the targeted revenue of $12.2 billion.