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Affected community members and local civil society organizations have submitted the first complaint from Egypt about a World Bank-funded project to the Bank’s highest accountability body, the Inspection Panel
On April 4, 2013, the World Bank’s Inspection Panel registered a complaint against the Giza North Power Project, located in Egypt. The complaint was submitted by the Egyptian Association for Collective Rights (EACR) and seven other Egyptian civil society organizations, as well as 35 farmers and laborers living and working in the communities surrounding the project site. The complainants cite the economic and environmental harms that they have faced during the construction phase of the project, and their fears that continued operations will cause further harm.
The project in question is a $2.2 billion natural gas-powered electricity generation plant which is under construction in an agricultural area of Imbaba, in the Giza Governorate of Egypt, about 30 km from Cairo. The World Bank is providing $840 million in financing for the project, through a Specific Investment Loan approved in 2010, and an additional financing loan approved in 2012.
The Bank Information Center’s Middle East and North Africa Program (BIC-MENA) has been closely following developments in the project since EACR representatives first began hearing of complaints against the project from local community members. BIC-MENA facilitated EACR and the affected communities’ initial contact with the World Bank to present their concerns.
The complaint is the first case from Egypt to be received and registered by the Inspection Panel.