Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA), the leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East with US$ 9.5 billion in investments under control, has reported that its energy distribution platform TAQA Arabia has entered into an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to connect 66,000 homes with natural gas in areas where the infrastructure is already in place. The contract, which was signed with EGAS, comes as part of a national effort to the accelerate the development of Egypt's energy sector and meet increasing national demand for energy. "We view this new agreement as the crowning achievement of our energy distribution work in Egypt, and an indicator that our domestic investments have proven fruitful," said Pakinam Kafafi, TAQA Arabia's Chief Executive Officer. "In the coming period we plan to enhance our existing operations and expand services into a number of Egyptian governorates in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt to ensure that all socioeconomic groups in the country have access to natural gas," she added. TAQA Arabia is the largest private sector energy distribution company in Egypt with over 16 years of experience, investing and operating energy infrastructure including gas transmission and distribution through its largest operational arm, TAQA Gas. In keeping with TAQA Arabia's belief in the importance of developing its most valuable asset, human capital, the company has appointed Tarek El-Hawary as the new Managing Director of TAQA Gas. Mr. El-Hawary is a 28-year veteran of the energy and natural gas sector, with invaluable engineering experience that includes building natural gas distribution networks in the Greater Cairo area for Egypt Gas and developing gas distribution infrastructure in Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Suez and other governorates. Commenting on the appointment of El-Hawary, Kafafi said, "We are very pleased to have him on board. Eng. El-Hawary has the ability to employ technical skills and knowledge to provide innovative solutions to challenges, a quality that is much needed in the group." The growth of TAQA Arabia's gas distribution arm comes as Citadel Capital continues the strategic transformation of its business model to become Africa's leading investment company. Energy is one of Citadel Capital's five core industries alongside transportation, agriculture agrifoods, mining, and cement.
