The Japanese government is loaning 10 billion yen ($89 million) to support the construction of a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and storage project near the Egyptian city of Hurghada, said a report.

The project will comprise a 20 MW solar PV plant and a 30 MW storage facility, which will utilise several different types of battery technology, including lithium-ion and sodium-sulphur batteries, reported the PV magazine.

The Japanese government is funding and providing technical expertise for one of Egypt’s promising solar PV sectors.

Sumitomo Electric Industries and NGK insulators are two of the favourites for the project contracts, thus opening the floodgates for more Japanese investment in the growing Mena region.

A written agreement on the project is expected to be signed at next week’s PV Expo in Tokyo, when Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al Sissi is scheduled to visit Japan to discuss the project, said the report.

The project is the first in Egypt to boast a large-scale storage facility, it added.