CAIRO: Coming to a sunny Cairo in June, Roberto Arcadu, senior advisor for the Italy-based Solar Investment Group, has big plans for Egypt’s renewable energy sector.
To his surprise, solar energy facilities are not yet developed in a country that’s divinely located. He sees this, however, as an “immediate chance” for his company to invest.
Currently, Solar Investment Group is amassing €300 billion to invest internationally.
“Part of this amount we want to invest in Egypt,” Arcadu said.
“The first reason is solar radiation, this country is blessed with its location. The second is the vast number of job opportunities especially for the youth under the age of 30,” he added.
An Egyptian-British business delegation visited Egypt this week on a fact-finding mission in order to “study the size of the Egyptian market” before moving forward with four proposed projects.
Presenting the ideas to the Egyptian government and potential investors, the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce, along with the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) welcomed support for the new plans, which they say are vital to the economic development in a “new” Egypt.
The ventures are prepared and organized, and are just pending state approval.
“We are here, we are ready to carry out these projects, but we first need the permission and help of the Egyptian government,” said Taher El Sherif, CEO of the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce in London and head of the Egyptian-British Delegation.
The projects include the design and production of an Egyptian automobile, importing of prefabricated hospitals and clinics, the establishment of an Egyptian trading center in London, and an intensive solar and renewable energy program.
“My dream is to see an Egyptian trading center in London where we would sell Egyptian-made products, whether it’s food, ceramics, carpets, or household products,” said El Sherif. “The land for the center is there, the will is there; we just need support from the Egyptian government and local manufacturers.”
Though Egypt’s economy has slowed since the start of the January 25 Revolution, many British business officials gazed at the Egyptian market with enthusiasm and hope.
But first, they wanted to explore the country’s economy in order to have a clear and solid understanding before executing their plans.
“Some people tried to shape suspicion about what happened,” said El Sherif, referring to the Egyptian revolution. “But I tell you with full confidence, that this revolution was welcomed and admired by British citizens and companies.”
El Sherif said that the delegation is here to help the Egyptian government sort out any problems they may have with creating more jobs for citizens, setting up export plans with other nations, and any other obstacles the economy may be facing after the recent events.
Thomas Ashton, design director from CGI Consulting, a UK-based company, presented to the delegation his company’s plan for an Egyptian-made car.
“We are here to see if there is an appetite for a national car project,” he said. “This is all about allowing and enabling the Egyptian automobile sector to develop.”
CGI consulting has worked with several companies in design and production, including Chevrolet, Daewoo, Tata, General Motors, and Ford.
They also designed and introduced Iran’s national car in collaboration with Iran Khodro, a leading Iranian automaker.
Another project proposed by the delegation is the prefabrication of already-constructed state-of-the-art medical facilities.
Head of British-based MODUS Healthcare Manufacturing Brent Yessin proposed the idea which would provide Egypt with the chance to “dramatically lower the cost of healthcare by 20 to 50 percent,” while enhancing the quality of facilities as well as reducing construction time to about nine months from the date of the contract is signed.
“We know that there is a qualified workforce here, this is why we are interested in the Egyptian market,” said Yessin.
According to Yessin, the new facilities would provide the Egyptian medical field with US quality healthcare.
Osama Saleh, chairman of GAFI, pointed out that British partners rank first among foreign investors in Egypt with the value of trade between the two countries currently at $17.7 billion.
Egypt’s exports overall to the European Union (EU) were worth $7.1 billion in 2010, while imports were at $14.8 billion.
According to the Ministry of Trade, the growth rate of imports between the EU and Egypt is 15 percent and as for exports, 17 percent.
