Siemens signs '€4bn' power deal with Egypt

German conglomerate Siemens has signed a "four billion euro" power deal with Egypt, a company spokesperson said on Saturday.
Under a number of accords agreed between the parties, Siemens will build a "4.4 gigawatt combined cycle power plant and install wind power capacity of 2 gigawatt", the company added in a statement.
Other projects would include building a factory in Egypt "to manufacture rotor blades for wind turbines".
Under two further memorandums of understanding (MoU), Siemens will also propose to build additional "combined cycle power plants with a capacity of up to 6.6 gigawatts and ten substations for reliable power supply", the statement added.
The spokesperson told AFP the projects covered by the MoU would be worth a further six billion euros.
Siemens president and chief executive officer Joe Kaeser said the accords would supply Egypt with "a powerful and reliable energy system to support its long-term, sustainable economic development".
The agreements were signed at a global investor conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh by Kaeser and Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
The conference is aimed at jump-starting the Egyptian economy after years of turmoil.
Foreign investment has plummeted since the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time president Hosni Mubarak.
Egyptian Housing Minister Mustafa Kamel Madbuli announced at the conference on Friday plans to build a new administrative and business capital east of Cairo that will house five million people and feature 90 square kilometres of solar farms, an electric train and a theme park "four times bigger than Disneyland".
The minister said the new centre would relieve pressure on overcrowded Cairo, with its population of 18 million which is expected to double in coming decades.
Parliament, presidential palaces, government ministries and foreign embassies would move to the new metropolis, the minister said, adding that the projects would be executed over the next five to seven years at a cost of $45 billion (42.9 billion euros).
Restoring the economy and attracting foreign investment have been key tenets of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's presidency since he toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Sisi, who has positioned himself as a bulwark against jihadists, added that investing in the Arab world's most populous country would help stabilise the entire region.
Egypt aims for 4.3 percent growth in 2015-2016, compared with two percent annually since the anti-Mubarak uprising, while also reducing the budget deficit and easing unemployment.
Source: AFP