Globeleq reaches 100% ownership of Egyptian power station

HOUSTON, 17 May 2005 – Globeleq, the emerging markets power company, announced that it has increased its ownership interest to 100% of Sidi Krir, a 683 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power station in Egypt.

Globeleq entered the Egyptian electricity market in December 2004 when it purchased a majority interest in Sidi Krir. It has since been negotiating with Edison SpA, the other shareholder in the project, and has completed the purchase of the remaining interest.

Torbjorn Caesar , Globeleq’s Executive Vice President for Africa, commented, “We are very pleased to be the 100% owner of Sidi Krir. This is a high-quality operation with an expert staff. This acquisition augments our presence in the region and positions us for further opportunities.”

Sidi Krir Generating Company’s General Manager, Tom Thomason added: “Working closely with Globeleq over the last few months has been extremely rewarding for the entire team at Sidi Krir. It is a great opportunity to be involved in a dynamic company and we all look forward to being involved as a key component of the rapidly expanding Globeleq portfolio .”

The plant, which is 30 km (20 miles) west of Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, uses gas supplied by the Egyptian National Gas Company, the government owned gas distribution company and produces power for the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company. Existing third party contracts for the plant and contractual arrangements for fuel supply and electricity offtake remain unchanged.

With investments of over US$550 million, Globeleq is the only operating power company solely focused on the emerging markets of Africa, the Americas and Asia. Since 2002 the company has acquired more than 2,200MW of generation capacity, reaching a total of more than 3,000 net equity MW in 21 projects in 16 countries. Globeleq is actively pursuing acquisitions and new project development.