New Cairo WWTP financing, Egypt

What is it?

A 15-year EGP566 million ($102 million) debt package from a club of four Egyptian banks to meet 70% of the engineering, procurement and construction cost of a new 250,000m³/d wastewater treatment project to serve New Cairo city. The balance of the EPC cost is being met through developer equity.

Who is responsible?

A 50:50 developer consortium of aqualia and Orascom Construction Industries closed the financing seven months after being awarded the $480 million 20-year build-own-operate-transfer contract by the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development. National Sociéte Générale Bank acted as facility agent on the debt package. The IFC acted as lead advisor to the Egyptian government on the project.

What makes it special?

• New Cairo is Egypt’s first major PPP transaction, and it broke new ground in Egyptian infrastructure financing by harnessing liquidity among Egypt’s domestic commercial lenders to secure long-term project debt.

• The sponsors overcame the lack of a precedent to establish a solid blueprint for wider regional and international participation in future Egyptian project financings.

• With Egypt’s overarching PPP law still being hammered out, the New Cairo deal is a major vote of confidence from lenders in the government’s infrastructure procurement strategy.