Dr. Ahmed Heikal, Founder and Chairman of Qalaa Holdings, took part in the fifth annual Future Investment Initiative (FII), held under the theme: “Invest in Humanity”. The three-day forum was held from 26-28  October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the participation of several CEOs, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and heads of multilateral institutions.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

The FII aimed to discuss investments targeted to achieveat achieving economic prosperity and job creations for humanity, especially post amid the COVID-19 pandemicCovid-19 , where when numerous sectors experienced growth. diverse sectors have boomed during this period. The event included hybrid interactive summits on investing in education, ESG, health, gender equality, in addition to fighting poverty, especially in countries where the COVID-19 vaccine is unattainable.

 Heikal participated in a panel on entitled “ A“A Macroeconomic Outlook: Job Creation - Feast or Famine?” along with  , in the presence of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Maliki Bin Osman,, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs of Singapore; Mr. Ghanem Al Ghenaiman, Managing Director of the Kuwait Investment Authority; along and with Mr. Andrew Liveris, Special Advisor to the Governor of the Public Investment Fund.

During the session, Heikal stated: "By building a natural gas network,  Egypt is expanding the transitioning to natural gas from liquid products dominated economy and its building a network of natural gasto cleaner energy sources. The government has managed to create a framework to facilitate the transportation of CNG by trucks to idyllic areas that experience have a scarcity in natural gas stations.

He added: “ Our diligent governmentThe government was also able to deliver gas to many homes, serving about 20,000-25,000 thousand customers. The transition energy transition has towards using natural gas had a positive impact on many other sectors, especially the mining one, which used relied heavily on to rely on diesel. Also, t This discernable impact has reached trickled to the agricultural sector too, which is currently generating electricity from hybrid solar power plants and natural- gas-powered stations,.” said Heikal.

Carrying on his words, Heikal mentioned:Heikal continued, "Substituting natural gas and solar power for traditional energy sources The government’s transition has alsohas also led to the improvement of in the country’s productivity as a whole, — creating even more job  by removing the unusual modes of using liquid products and substituted via combination of natural gas and solar, in addition to creating more job opportunities by hiring more truck driverspeople to drive the CNG trucks. Hence, In essence, the government was able to establish an integrated, clean energy ecosystem in a specific field."

In line with building a more sustainable economy, Heikal accentuated highlighted the importance of eliminating carbon emissions, and simultaneously increasing the green jobs through by emphasizing the need shift towards establishing environmentally friendly and green investments. Consequently, this strategy will improve the energy consumption efficiency needed to achieve the UN SDG’s and eliminate any environmentalnarrow Egypt’s footprint.

Moreover, Heikal praised the Egyptian government’s strategy,  adopted and said that theadding that the state  government has steered the economy on the is running the economy efficiently and in the right path, where there arewith numerous many promising companies are operating and expanding in the private sector. He has also pointed out that the moment the decrees pertaining to supporting exports were issued, Qalaa Holdings and its subsidiaries started taking crucial steps thatin this regard, deploying investments of  comprised investments that ranged between $USD 70 million to  and USD $80 million.

In regard toRegarding the renewable energy fields, Heikal said that the company aims to raise its production of solar energy from 70 MW megawatts to 400-500 megawatts MW within in the merely the next five years and throughthrough subsidiary TAQA Taqa Arabia - one of its companies in the field of energy. 

Qalaa has made and continues to make significant progress throughout its portfolio to neutralize our its environmental footprint by using local resources efficiently and further investing in green energy solutions.  Its Our investments in solar, biofuels, recycling, river transportation, and environmentally friendly building materials will enable and drive growth in Egypt’s transition to a green and more circular economy, in addition to achieving Egypt’s 2030 vision and UN SDG’s.

Heikal further added that in regards toin regard to promoting private-to-private green projects in Egypt and the shift to the use of renewable energy sources, the Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently visited Dina Farms to witness the inauguration of a solar power plant for built by Taqa TAQA Arabia . He also explained that private sector-led financing for green projects facilitated by green-conditioned financing from International Finance Institutions (IFIs) like EBRD will no doubt help transition Egypt to a more inclusive and sustainable future.

It is noteworthy that the activities of FII is iin its fifth edition, bringing  bring together more than 2,000 missions and 5,000 participants due to the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic. The initiative seeks to discover pioneering solutions that address societal challenges and encourage efforts to achieve them. It is also deemed as being as an effective global platform that , which promotes international cooperation in order to attain the desired impact on humanity.

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Previous Qalaa Holdings press releases on this subject and others may be viewed online from your computer, tablet or mobile device at qalaaholdings.com/newsroom

Qalaa Holdings (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is an African leader in energy and infrastructure. Qalaa Holdings builds responsible and sustainable businesses that add value to the economies and societies in which it does business. Formerly known as Citadel Capital, Qalaa Holdings controls subsidiaries in industries including Energy, Cement, Agrifoods, Transportation & Logistics, Mining and Printing & Packaging. To learn more, please visit qalaaholdings.com.

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