Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone expects to sign about $25 billion worth of green energy deals at Cop27, the UN climate change summit to be hosted in the Red Sea coastal city of Sharm El Sheikh in November.
Of the 16 memoranda of understanding signed between the SCZone and international companies since March, about five could result in final agreements at the conference, an SCZone spokeswoman told The National.
Last week, the SCZone signed seven agreements worth at least $31bn to set up green hydrogen and ammonia production facilities. It previously signed seven initial agreements worth more than $14bn.
“SCZone has a vision based on making it a regional and global hub for the production of green fuel, as it is scheduled to announce several projects and final contracts coinciding with Egypt’s hosting of Cop27,” said SCZone chairman Walid El Dein, following a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Saturday.
Egypt is aiming to increase its renewable energy sources to 42 per cent by 2035 and has been ramping up its green hydrogen ambitions in recent months before Cop27.
Hydrogen is projected to account for 12 per cent of global energy use and 10 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 2050, driven by climate change urgency and countries’ commitments to net zero, the International Renewable Energy Agency says.
The colourless, odourless gas comes in several forms, including blue, green and grey. Blue and grey hydrogen are derived from natural gas, while green hydrogen is produced using renewable sources.
The Mena region has the highest number of low carbon-based hydrogen initiatives for export purposes and is projected to be the world’s largest supplier of green hydrogen in the coming years, according to research from the Abu Dhabi-based Clean Energy Business Council.
In the SCZone’s 460-kilometre area, 15 of the planned projects will be in the Ain Sokhna economic zone on the western side of the Gulf of Suez and one in East Port Said, which is close to the north exit of the Suez Canal.
“The integration between the industrial zones and the affiliated ports gave SCZone the competitive advantage that made it one of the most important global destinations and a regional hub for the green fuel industries,” Mr El Dein said.
The seven deals signed last week at the Egyptian government headquarters in New Alamein were between the SCZone, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, and companies from Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the UAE.
India’s Acme Group, which currently has projects in India and Oman, will build a $13bn hydrogen production plant with a total capacity of 2.2 million tonnes annually.
Africa-focused British company Globeleq plans to establish a $11bn green fuel production plant on an area of 10 million square metres and an annual production capacity of two million tonnes.
Saudi Arabian company Alfanar said on Monday it aims to develop a $3.5bn centre in Sokhna that will produce 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia from 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
Green ammonia, which is used in making fertilisers, is made with hydrogen that comes from water electrolysis powered by alternative energy.
Alfanar has renewable energy projects in Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the UK.
It currently operates a 50 megawatts solar project in Aswan’s Benban Solar Park. The electricity generated from the solar plant offsets about 57,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the company said.
The UAE’s Alcazar is looking to construct a $2bn green fuel production complex with an annual production capacity of 230,000 tonnes.
Also from the UAE, the K&K Group plans to build a green hydrogen production plant with the same capacity, although the investment value was not disclosed.
A $1.5bn project from the UK’s Actis will establish green fuel production plants with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes annually.
Finally, Egypt’s Mediterranean Energy Partners will invest $250m to establish a green ammonia plant with a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year.
The companies will now begin conducting feasibility studies on the projects, the SCZone said.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
