Standard Chartered Bank (with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) announces the provision of a $566.4m Export Credit Agency supported Islamic financing facility for Saudi Electricity Company to support a Saudi-Egypt electricity interconnection project.

The 14-year financing will be guaranteed by the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) and funded by the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK). The landmark facility is structured on the Islamic concept of Commodity Murabaha.

The electricity interconnection project is the first large-scale, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnection in the Middle East and North Africa to link electricity grids.

The project will allow Saudi Arabia and Egypt to exchange up to 3,000 MW of power. The connection is expected to be in place by 2026 and will support the flow of power in multiple directions, between Badr in Egypt, to El-Madinah El-Munawara via Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.

Faruq Muhammad, Global head of Structured Export Finance, Standard Chartered Bank, said: “This facility supports the growth of electricity connectivity in the Arabian Gulf and North Africa, which will allow for grid resilience and future decarbonisation efforts. Our unique footprint and on-the-ground expertise across the region, coupled with our unrivalled ECA and Islamic structuring expertise, ensures we are best placed to support our clients with their structured financing needs.”