A total of EGP 500m in investments will be injected by the Modern Company of Real Estate Investment (MCR) into an integral compound operated by solar power. The compound will be located in Shorouk City, and will be spread over a space of 10,000 feddans, with the project involving 50 villas and seven buildings. It will need a 1 MW solar station for the project to operate, depending on solar power, Mohamed Abd Elmohsen, the company's Chairman, said in an official statement. MCR will run a global tender to choose the company that will be responsible for implementing the 1 MW solar power plant. The project is expected to be delivered by March 2018, or in three years, whereby constructing and maintenance company Dar-Elemara will be responsible for executing the project. Construction costs are expected to increase by 20%-25% due to the high costs of solar energy, although the company will endeavour to offer competitive prices to its customers, according to Abd Elmohsen. He added that clients will be offered the possibility to pay in instalments, to start with a 15% down-payment, and the remainder to be paid over five years. Concerning future expansions, MCR plans to establish a mega project spread over an area of 50,000 feddans, to be located in the Fifth Settlement. Investments for the project are expected to reach EGP 1.2bn, with the company planning to start it by the first quarter (Q1) of 2016. Another project, located in the 6th of October City, is expected to be implemented in the near future, along with a new tourist project in the North Coast. MCR was founded in 2008 in the UAE, working in the contracting and brokerage fields. The company's founder then came to Egypt in 2010, transforming the company into an Egyptian joint stock company with capital worth EGP 50m. Amongst the projects that have been established by MCR are Elite and Al-Yasmine compounds located in New Cairo. The world is heading towards solar and renewable-energy generated power, which if applied in Egypt, would save 72% of the electricity consumption. Using solar power solutions in various types of projects is a trend that a number of leading companies have started to carry out, or are planning to in the near future. Private sector construction company Hassam Allam Holding will start constructing its first solar energy project, expected to cost $80m, in Q1 of 2016, the company's deputy business development director Ahmed Kafouri told Daily News Egypt in June. In the same regard, Orascom Telecom Company, Media and Technology is currently awaiting the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to proceed with the feed-in tariff electricity project. The company was among the first companies to announce feed-in tariff projects, and the land was provided during the Economic Summit that was held in Sharm El-Sheikh in March. Egypt has recently sought to expand the use of solar energy in different sectors, such as irrigation land reclamation, and industries. This has opened many investment opportunities in the sector to decrease the consumption of electrical and fuel energy. In that regard, solar energy units have been installed in many governorates' administrative offices, such as Cairo, Beheira, and North Sinai. As for the governorate of South Sinai, the 8 km long Salam Road and four main streets in Sharm El-Sheikh are lit using solar energy, according to Minister of Local Development Adel Labib. Source: Daily News Egypt
