Invest-Gate concluded the roundtable held on October 12th in collaboration with the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA) with the title “4th Generation Cities: Opportunities & Challenges” which discussed business opportunities in fourth generation cities, and shed light on key relevant challenges that investors are facing and the means to achieve sustainability and green urbanization in these cities.
The discussion sessions was moderated by Fathallah Fawzy, Chairman of Construction Committee Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA), and attended by Waleed Abbas, Assistant of Minister of Housing for the Affairs of the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), Bedeir Rizk, CEO of PARAGON Developments, Mohamed Taher, Chairman of Nile Developments, Nader Khozam, Chairman and CEO of IL Cazar Development, Mohamed Galal, Managing Director of Misr Real Estate Assets Management, Hassan Nasr, CEO of Gates Developments, Sherif Hamouda, CEO of GV Development, Mohamed Al Taher, CEO of Saudi Egyptian Developers, Ashraf Boulos, Chairman and CEO of Cornerstone Development, Raef Fahmi, Managing Chairman of Raeffahmi Architects, Ayman Sami, Country Head of JLL-Egypt, Fouad Zayed, vice president of Digital Energy and EcoStruxure Egypt, North East Africa and Levant Cluster at Schneider Electric, and Amgad Khattab, General Manager of Engineering Solutions.
Participants agreed on the following recommendations:
- Adopting legislation for international standards of fourth generation cities.
- Expanding green urbanization and increasing green spaces for reduction of pollution; devising plans for cutting carbon emissions and mitigation of global warming through cooperation between the government and the private sector.
- Offering an assistance package and incentives by the government for real estate developers that apply standards and requirements of sustainability in their projects.
- Implementing sustainability prerequisites in all phases of projects, including design, construction, execution, operation, and maintenance.
- Using eco-friendly building material, as construction waste negatively affects the environment.
- Applying insulation system in the construction of properties to save energy and heat.
- The government and real estate developers should provide all the means of support to offer renewable energy services in fourth generation cities.
- Granting tax exemptions for eco-friendly buildings for the first years of its construction.
- Offering incentives including discounts on land prices and long installment systems to developers executing sustainable projects to allow for the generation of actual economic returns.
- Joining forces of all competent authorities for the provision of investment incentives in fourth generation cities.
- The state should announce short- and long-term strategies for green urbanization and reduction of levels of pollution.
- Technical certificates, such as LEED, should be awarded in Egypt for eco-friendly projects.
- Incentivizing investors by facilitating licensing for projects that implement sustainability requirements.
- The government should provide fundamental and unconventional solutions to transform existing buildings into green buildings.
- Launching awareness campaigns for rationalization of energy consumption and reduction of emissions.
- On-going evaluation to maintain green and sustainable buildings.
- Offering facilities to attract investments in the industry of green building materials in Egypt, to substitute imports, and overcome increases in prices.
- Setting clear requirements for green buildings in commercial and administrative areas which will host international companies.
- Real estate developers should deliver fully-finished units and decrease their areas to provide better quality.