President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed the need to develop a more diversified and sustainable energy mix to strengthen energy security, reduce emissions, make better use of natural resources and cut reliance on fossil fuels.
The President made the remarks during his meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk to review progress on renewable energy projects and discuss economic and financial developments.
Presidency Spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy said the meeting reviewed the implementation of a 200-megawatt wind power plant project in the Gulf of Suez.
The project will contribute to raising the share of renewable energy in Egypt’s energy mix to 45% by 2028, ahead of the previous target of 42% by 2030.
Esmat said the ministry has recently signed a contract to strengthen the national electricity grid by building a new 500-kilovolt overhead transmission line to carry wind-generated electricity from the Gulf of Suez to consumption centres across the country.
The meeting also reviewed efforts to expand renewable electricity generation, develop battery energy storage projects, upgrade supporting infrastructure and strengthen international cooperation and partnerships.
The meeting also discussed progress on green hydrogen projects and seawater desalination.
These included a planned desalination complex in El-Dabaa area, which aims to establish an integrated system using advanced technologies and specialised expertise.
Other desalination projects are being developed at existing power plants in co-operation with international partners, with the aim of securing sustainable sources of desalinated water and localising related technologies and industries.
President Sisi also followed up on efforts to develop domestic manufacturing in the black sand industry and increase the added value of its products.
He stressed the importance of localising industries based on black sand and rare elements, and turning Egypt’s natural resources into higher-value industrial products rather than relying on the extraction and use of raw materials alone.
Kouchouk briefed the meeting on the latest economic and financial developments, measures to address current global economic challenges, co-operation with international financial institutions and efforts to reduce the debt of public entities.
President Sisi stressed the importance of these efforts and called on all state institutions to work together to support the implementation of debt-reduction plans and achieve the announced targets.
