Saudi firm plans a hydrogen-powered skyscraper for Egypt's new Capital
Saudi-controlled firm plans to start construction on 50-storey, $1 billion office tower in Egypt's capital early next year. The building will be powered by hydrogen and is the first of its type.
Magnom Properties is a Saudi industrial group Rawabi Holding subsidiary. They bet that the sophisticated design and price tag will attract international clients to the new capital. A city of over 6 million people, being built in the desert east from Cairo, the new capital has been designed with a high-end look.
The bet is also on clean hydrogen produced with renewable energy, which has not been proven yet at scale. Egypt wants to position itself against regional competition as a hub for green energy.
The city will be home to a number of ministries from July 2023. However, few residents have yet moved in. Construction on rail links and other infrastructure continues.
Karim Dayhoum is the executive director for projects at Magnom. He said that the company will begin the detailed design soon of the Forbes International Tower. The goal is to finish the building in 2030.
The company has purchased land in 2021 for the tower to be built in the business district of the new capital and is currently selecting land for towers in Dubai and Riyadh.
Dayhoum stated in an interview that "we want to give our tenants, our buyers and our investors the chance to use the facilities and amenities throughout the region." It's a sophisticated network of office space.
The new capital represents the most ambitious of a number of mega-projects undertaken by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
The International Monetary Fund pushed the government to limit public investments because they have accelerated infrastructure development, but also increased the budget, increased the debt, and sucked in foreign currency.
Investors see the potential of Egypt's strategic location and its large workforce. However, mismanagement and low productivity have long plagued the economy.
Critics claim that the new capital is not suited to the needs of ordinary Egyptians.
It is unusual to see a tower with a high-luxury price tag of $1 billion. The rest of the Chinese business district with its 20 towers is estimated to cost $3 billion.
According to the plans, the tower was developed with the media group Forbes, Chicago-based architects Adrian Smith, and Gordon Gill. It will feature advanced cyber security, two ultra-fast elevators for VIPs, and a helicopter pad.
The tower will also be the first carbon-neutral tower in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Solar panels embedded on the facade will produce 25% of its electricity, while the remaining is generated from clean hydrogen that has been transported in liquid form to the building.
Dayhoum said that the incentives given to land buyers for sustainable design are a part of his efforts to eliminate all reliance on utilities.
This could also protect against outages on the local grid. Egypt has suffered from chronic power cuts due to a natural gas shortage.
Ahmed Kassem said that the tower would be financed by various debt equity instruments.
He said, "We are still discussing at the group level whether we should retain ownership of the entire building." (Editing by Barbara Lewis).
(source: Reuters)
