Mohamed Al Bostany, Chairperson of the New Cairo and NAC Developers Association, said that the Association is formulating a proposal to apply green building standards at the real estate projects owned by its member companies in the New Administrative Capital (NAC).
Al Bostany added that once the proposal is completed, it will be submitted to the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) for discussion and approval.
He noted: “The NAC is the largest green city in the Middle East, and aims to achieve sustainable development in a practical way on the ground through green spaces, and an increase in per capita share of green spaces to 15%, in addition to the quality of the projects that are developed in the city. It is related to the waste system, environmentally friendly buildings, and major parks, which are comparable to what is being implemented in major countries of the world.”
He pointed out that the New Cairo Developers Association aims to achieve sustainable development in all its projects, whether within the New Capital, or the New Cairo City, in order to gain more confidence of its customers, explaining that the Association always seeks to take initiatives that are in the interest of the citizen and the interest of the Egyptian economy.
He further elaborated that the state has allocated $75bn for green investment, as the climate issue is not a luxury issue, and requires the solidarity of the international community. It needs mandatory legislation to expand green lands, and the need to amend the environment law, because the last environmental law was issued in 1994 and was related to pollution, and there is no environmental law currently that contains the word “global warming”.
He disclosed, “We need legislation to link green projects, and we need a legal environment to support sustainable architecture and support facing climate change, linking building code with building permit, enacting a law to encourage the private sector with tax incentives to expand green architecture, ease and mechanize procedures for obtaining a green license, and educating the citizen that he has pay the same money or less for a healthier home and live longer.”
Egypt is making attempts to reduce the impact of real estate sector on climate change, and there are currently 23 buildings that have LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, and it is expected the number to increase in the coming years, especially in the operation of the NAC and fourth-generation cities, he said.
Al Bostany called for the importance of approving incentive programmes to encourage companies to follow sustainability standards in their projects, especially since these standards represent an additional cost for developers, at a time when inflation causes pressure on companies’ budgets, the costs of projects construction, and proposals included providing bank facilities in order to finance sustainability projects in Egyptian pounds with soft interest rate. Furthermore, provide facilities related to land installments and cancellation of interest calculated on them in the event that the project adheres to the required rules, besides some tax exemptions, which encourages developers to take serious measures towards adopting the latest technology in the field of construction and relying on it in project management.
In another context, Misr Italia Properties, one of major developers at NAC, unveiled a series of practices across its developments prioritising quality through partnerships that help present comprehensive projects taking its values and sustainability measures into account, towards a greener future.
Mohamed Hany El Assal, CEO and Managing Director of Misr Italia Properties, said: “COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh focused on constructive implementation and this has been the guiding principle of our strategy; the real estate industry as estimated by the World GBC is responsible for about 40% of global carbon emissions; as an industry, real estate development needs to take proactive steps to reduce its impact on the planet and its resources.”
Mohamed El Assal, CEO and Managing Director of Misr Italia Properties, said: “We believe that in order to get closer to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt’s 2030 vision for sustainable living, we leverage our local and international partners’ expertise to create the best for our clients and to maintain best practices and to secure partnerships that reflect our commitment towards creating sustainability within our projects, Misr Italia Properties signed an MOU with Schneider Electric where the latter is planned to employ their expertise and together develop smart-city concepts using EcoStruxure systems, which enables comprehensive management of all infrastructure including DCIM, security, command and control centers, energy, heating, air conditioning, and water.
El Assal further added that “another partnership we are proud of securing is signing an agreement with Future Clean Energy towards implementing solar panels on the roofs of 3 commercial malls with a capacity of 400 kilowatts from solar power plants to produce renewable energy and save user expenses by up to 20%.”
Misr Italia Properties stands among the industry’s investors that invest towards having a green development in 2022, and goes in line with Egypt’s Climate Change Strategy 2050 by prioritizing smart technology systems in all its residential, commercial and administrative projects with the aim of adding value to people’s lives and the environment they’re a part of.
