Maersk submits offer to acquire Zafarana

CAIRO - 17 July 2023: The Egyptian government has received an offer from the Danish company Maersk to acquire the Zafarana wind plant located at Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea Governorate, according to local media reports.

The Danish shipping company is looking to acquire the farm to use the generated energy in its own green hydrogen projects. Zafarana is a 544 MW onshore wind power project.

The Egyptian government, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), and the Minister of Elecricity are currently studying the offer, according to unnamed sources cited by local media. They are also assessing assets related to its leading state-owned 580-MW Gabal El-Zeit wind farm and Zafarana wind farm after receiving acquisition bids from global unnamed investors.

Both wind farms come within Egypt’s list of 32 companies and assets under its Initial Public Offering (IPO) program. Egypt’s recent measures and actions to accelerate its IPO program were applauded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During a hybrid press briefing on Thursday, the IMF expressed its support for Egypt's efforts in bolstering the private sector and resolving its dollar shortage.

Julie Kozack, the head of the IMF's Communication Department, stated, “We welcome the Egyptian authorities’ announcement that they have signed contracts to sell equity stakes in state-owned entities worth US $1.9 billion. Divestment, as I noted, is a critical component of the [Extended Fund Facility] supported program, supporting the gradual withdrawal of the state from economic activity and providing resources for external financing and debt reduction”.