France-based Schneider Electric is working on a proposal for a solar energy power station project in South Sinai, Mohamed Saad, Zone President for Africa and the Caribbean told Daily News Egypt. He said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his cabinet are "in a hurry" for energy related projects. "It is a little bit early to give you details on the project," he said. However, according to an official statement from the cabinet, the project is expected to be a 50 MW solar power station. Sinai is an "extremely touristic" area and it should be an upfront image for the Egyptian economy, Saad added, mentioning that the government is supporting the company in the project. Early Tuesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail sat down with the company's Executive Vice-President for the Energy Business at Schneider Electric, Frédéric Abbal, to discuss the company's investment plans in Egypt. Schneider Electric participated in the country's electricity emergency plan which aimed to increase its generation capacity, providing more than 50%. "It was conducted in record timing, six months, we noticed very positive impact in the electricity shortcuts during the past summer compared to the last couple of years," Saad said. Discussing the business environment in Egypt, Saad said that the energy business is an interesting and challenging business to be evolved in, but he stressed that the current investment environment in Egypt is positive. "We have always been interested in Egypt for 30 years and we have been determined to stay in the country even during the rough times," he said. The company official stated that "mega-projects" are being launched in Egypt that require access to energy. He added that the government is aware of this need and is now catering to it. On their active role in the government's new and renewable energy target, which seeks to increase new energy's share to 20% by 2020, Saad said that his company is very active in that plan. "We do installations off the national grid and we do about 100 MW installations in various countries." The company has over 1,400 employees, 900 of which are engineers that are capable of answering energy management questions inside and outside of Egypt.
