Egypt’s Qalaa to build solar plant for its agribusiness platform

By Islam Salah, Hesham Ibrahim On Jul 16, 2019

Ahmed Heikal Qalaa Holdings — Qalaa Holdings Chairman Ahmed Heikal at Qalaa's section at the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 14, 2015. (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Egyptian investment company Qalaa Holdings says it plans to establish a solar power plant to serve its agriculture and consumer foods platform, Dina Farms.

Dina Farms is Egypt’s largest private farm with 9,500 feddans (40 mn sqm) and the country’s leading producer of raw milk, with a current milk production of 64,060 tonness and more than 16,000 heads of cattle, according to Qalaa’s website.

Located in Cairo-Alexandria desert highway road, Dina Farms includes over 6,000 feddans under cultivation of crops and orchards.

“The project (plant) is part of Qalaa’s plans to pump investments up to 400 million Egyptian pounds ($24.1 million) in its flagships for the upcoming three years,” chairman Ahmed Heikal told Amwal Al Ghad on Monday.

Qalaa also seeks to increase its production of raw milk to around 160,000 tonnes per year from a current of 80,000 tonnes, Heikal added.

“There’s no going back, the group (Qalaa) will not invest in the retail sector for Dina Farms anymore, following a divesture move last year,” Heikal said.