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Obtaining financing for
investments in renewable energies and other environmental
sectors is facilitated by the Egyptian governments'
investment promotion and a wide range of donor institutions.
As to renewable energy technologies, the first agreements
with international consortiums for constructing and
operating power plants according to private operator models
such as BOOT projects (Build - Own - Operate - Transfer)
have already been finalized, and more extensive foreign
investment is anticipated. The visit of the German Minister
of the Environment, H.E. Sigmar Gabriel, to Egypt in June
2006 led to the creation of the German-Egyptian Renewable
Energies Association. Endowed with an initial budget of € 1
million, this association encourages German-Egyptian
cooperation and technology transfers in the field of
renewable energies.
Several donors, such as the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau,
UNDP and GTZ, make funds, including a mixture of grants and
soft loans, available for consultancy and the acquisition of
cleaner technologies and its required machinery and
equipment. This makes Egypt the largest EU aid recipient in
the Mediterranean basin. Along with the World Bank and other
donor institutions, the government also initiated Egypt's
Pollution Abatement Project (EPAP), which provides polluting
industries with financial assistance to upgrade their
production techniques. EPAP's first phase ended in 2004, but
in March 2006 the World Bank approved a € 16 million loan
for re-launching the project. This promise triggered another
€ 115 million in concessionary lending and grants from
various development agencies and private donors. These funds
apply to both mainstream production technologies as well as
end-of-the-pipe waste management technologies.
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