Saudi Arabia’s Fas Energy, a subsidiary of Fawaz Alhokair Group, is considering launching solar energy and recycling projects with investments amounting to $420m.
The general manager of Fas Energy, Sabry Asfour, said that they have been operating in Egypt since 2013, with total investments of about $100m.
He added that the company is expected to finish its solar power projects in Benban within the few upcoming months. Fas also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government to establish a solar energy project with a capacity of 50 MW. The project will provide about 500 direct and indirect job opportunities.
“We are considering launching two projects with investments worth $420m. The first is a solar energy plant worth $95m, and the other is a waste recycling plant worth $325m,” Asfour said.
The Egyptian market is one of the most promising markets in the field of solar energy, given the wide areas of land with high solar radiation, added the general manager.
“New and renewable energy is one of the most important sectors in the Egyptian market and has huge growth opportunities. However, the market still needs more of these kinds of projects to meet the high demand for energy,” Asfour remarked.
The government pays great attention to the new and renewable energy sector as Egypt plans to produce 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022, and 37% by 2035.
The state has approved a number of legislations that left a positive impact on the sector, and helped encourage investments in this vital field, Asfour explained.
“The regulatory procedures and measures of the feed-in tariff programme are easy, and encourage investors to obtain licenses for establishing power plants,” he added.
He elaborated that Fas is considering all the opportunities available for acquisition, and has no plan for merging into other entities.
Asfour also pointed out that the photovoltaic panels have seen a decline in prices after the Chinese market took over photovoltaic panels’ production, as there was a great supply and poor demand. As for the rest of the components, there has been no decline in prices.
Fas has an investment portfolio of EGP 15bn, and its projects are self-funded.
