Controversy ensued in Egypt after the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy received two offers on May 28 from a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, the world's largest asset management company, and a Malaysian company, Edra Energy, to buy shares in power plants in Beni Suef, Burlus and the new administrative capital being built in the desert.
The three gas-powered plants went online in July 2018 at a cost of 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) and were funded by a partnership led by Deutsche Bank and HSBC. They currently generate a combined capacity of 14,400 megawatts (MW).