Egypt is set to ink three concessional loan deals with Japan and one with South Korea worth a total of $575 million for funding key energy and transportation projects, said a report.

The signing of the financial deals comes as part of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi’s third tour to Asia, which started on Friday, reported Ahram Online.

The loans will be at interest rates of less than one per cent, to be repaid over a period of 50 years, including a 10-year grace period.

Japan's lending package includes a $155-million loan to expand Egypt's Borg Al-Arab airport, located about 50 km southwest of Alexandria, said an official from Egypt’s International Cooperation Ministry on condition of anonymity.

It will also include $305 million to boost the capacity of three state-owned electricity distribution companies and for the construction of a 20-MW photovoltaic station in the coastal city of Hurghada on the Red Sea.

Seoul will witness the signing of the first South Korean loan to Egypt during Sisi's visit, worth $115 million to finance an upgrade of the railway signalling system between the Qena and Luxor governorates in Upper Egypt.