The Ministers of Electricity, Communications and Investment discuss the executive steps for preparing the national strategy for the manufacture of data centers, relying on renewable energies
Within the framework of the assignment of H.E. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to prepare the national strategy for the data center industry and develop a unified model that includes available places, renewable energy sources of solar energy, wind energy, incentives, investment advantages and infrastructure readiness at the level of the electricity, communications and information technology sectors, as well as facilitating procedures to attract international companies in this important sector for investment in Egypt, Dr. Mahmoud Ismat, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Engineer Rafat Hindi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Dr. Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, met at the headquarters of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy in the new capital, in the presence of the concerned leaders in the three sectors, coordination officials and those in charge of the industry Data centers, and the mechanisms of joint action and the integration of efforts, coordination and cooperation were discussed to organize and establish data centers and cloud computing in Egypt, and the formulation of the unified national strategy for the development of this sector, with the development of an urgent plan to focus the investment promotion efforts of this file abroad through the commercial representation offices and the promotion sector of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, to ensure the attraction and flow of foreign direct investments from international companies.
During the meeting, the ministers stressed that the state pays special attention to the data center industry, and supports investment in this field, and that this meeting aims to formulate an integrated vision in which digital and electrical components, investment incentives and procedural facilities overlap, to ensure the provision of a digital and legislative infrastructure that complies with the technical and operational requirements of major global technology and computing companies, stressing at the same time the pivotal importance of the role of the Egyptian Commercial Representative Offices abroad and the General Authority for Investment as an executive promotional arm of the national strategy by launching an international promotional campaign that clarifies the state's capabilities in the field of digital, renewable energy, the capacity of the national electricity grid and the readiness of infrastructure that witnessed the process of rebuilding Complete during the last decade, and the meeting dealt with the proposed mechanisms of work, the most important of which is to identify the areas where the necessary facilities are available to establish large data center projects, especially the energy sources necessary to operate them, whether through the unified electricity network or through the renewable energy projects necessary for this type of project, so that it is presented to major technology companies and cloud computing service providers in global markets.
Dr. Mahmoud Ismat stressed during the meeting that the mechanism of work of data centers and their adoption mainly to support artificial intelligence applications, which requires the presence of huge energy from computing to absorb the huge inflation in the volume of data needed and produced by those applications, explaining that the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has an action plan to provide the necessary support for the localization of the data center industry, in light of the state's vision and the strategy of localization of modern technology, referring to the national energy strategy, and the reliance on renewable energies and reaching 45% of the energy mix during the next two years, explaining the readiness and readiness to provide the necessary electricity energy for all uses within the framework of the state plan for sustainable development, explaining the work from Through appropriate long-term agreements with investors
For his part, Engineer Rafat Hindi stressed that the availability of an advanced digital infrastructure is one of the most prominent attractions necessary to ensure the success of the national strategy being prepared to attract investments in the field of data centers to Egypt, adding that data centers are not just an investment project, but represent a fundamental pillar to enhance digital sovereignty, explaining the ministry's existing and future plans and projects to establish data centers, stressing the ministry's leadership of technical and operational efforts to strengthen digital sovereignty, localize the data center industry and expand the export of digital services, depending on the competitive components enjoyed by Egypt, most notably the extended international submarine cable network and Egypt's unique geographical location, which ensures a high-fast digital connection With the least response time among different continents of the world.
Dr. Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, reviewed the importance of having integrated information about the proposed areas in which these projects are proposed to be established in terms of suitable locations and the availability of the necessary facilities, especially sources of emergency energy to operate them, in addition to investment incentives and procedural facilities for this type of projects, which contributes to attracting major companies operating in this field and increasing the volume of Egyptian exports of these services, explaining that the commercial representation offices abroad and the promotion sector of the General Investment Authority will lead intensive promotional tours and direct meetings in international technology companies to present these investment opportunities.
In a related context, it was agreed to work on preparing an investment map that includes the proposed sites for the establishment of data centers at the level of the Republic, explaining the facilities provided in terms of digital infrastructure, connectivity, communication and electric power services, as well as the procedures and incentives associated with them, as well as the requirements, competitive advantages, estimated cost and prices for each site, and the concerned points of contact in the relevant authorities, provided that the opinion of experts and specialists is surveyed to express their technical opinions on it, in preparation for making it available through the website of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, as well as to promote it through commercial representation offices abroad and in front of investors, thus contributing to facilitating investment decision-making and attracting more investments In the field of data centers, this presentation is a complementary tool to the national strategy for organizing the establishment of data centers being prepared in cooperation and coordination between ministries and concerned authorities.
At the end of the meeting, it was agreed to form a joint working group of the officials of the three ministries; meeting continuously to formulate the final draft of the national strategy for data centers and cloud computing and follow up these projects, and coordinate with the commercial representation offices for the existence of a quick and direct communication mechanism with the working group, which allows an immediate response to the inquiries of international companies and a quick and organized response about the possibility of providing additional places other than those covered by the proposed model and other inquiries within the framework of the state's direction to accelerate practical steps to support the localization of the data center industry in Egypt.