CAIRO, May 19 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb launched on Tuesday a new power plant in the Qaliyubia governorate with the capacity of 750 megawatts. 

The power plant, which cost $500 million, comes as part of the state's five-year plan to provide environment-friendly electric energy for the years 2012-2017, according to a statement by the cabinet.

The plant was funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Saudi Fund for Development.

Egypt has been facing an energy crisis for years, with power outages surging in the summer. The peak was during last summer, when power cuts were the most frequent.

Egyptian authorities have often owed the power crisis to a larger fuel crisis and have been taking measures in recent months to diversify sources of energy.

The government has turned to renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. The state has also passed legislations allowing the generation of energy from coal, despite environmental concerns.