Eng. Ahmed Abdullah :The Company targets to expand the implementation of sustainable buildings outside Greater Cairo

The project buildings have been registered for EDGE certification supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The project is characterized by the design of high ceilings, with a height of 6 meters for commercial spaces and 4 meters for administrative ones, to increase natural lighting, which increases the productivity of individuals and improves their mental state.

We seek to benefit from green financing in future projects.

Green loans grant a refund of the financing interest rate of up to 2.8%.

The real estate sector contributes 20% of the GDP.

The efforts of state and developers must join forces to address the sector’s challenges.

The establishment of the Developers Union is a necessity to support the real estate sector. Redcon for Offices and Commercial Centers completes the mission of “Redcon Construction” in providing real estate products that represent an addition to the Egyptian real estate market and consider the standards of sustainability and green building.

“Golden Gate” is the first mixed-purpose commercial, administrative, and entertainment project to follow green architecture standards fully

Redcon Construction is one of the first companies to implement projects that consider these standards since 2008.

It has developed a Platinum LEED registered building from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) on a prime location overlooking the Northern Tesseen street that considers sustainability and environmental preservation standards.

Redcon Construction was keen to spread sustainability concepts through community awareness or the implementation of projects that follow this mechanism. This prompted it to launch Redcon for Offices and Commercial Centers , which aims to expand the construction of commercial and administrative buildings that follow the latest sustainability standards.

The Company has already begun to achieve its trend through its first project, “Golden Gate,” the first mixed-purpose commercial, administrative, and entertainment project to follow sustainability and green architecture standards fully.

Sustainability is one of our key metrics in the “Golden Gate” project, starting from the selection of the location in the heart of New Cairo, with a façade of about 1.25 km overlooking Southern 90th Street, directly facing the American University in Cairo, between two monorail stations, and directly linked to the main city axes, making it easily accessible from anywhere.

Furthermore, it provides a parking garage with up to 250,000 square meters on two basement floors, the largest of its kind for similar projects, with a capacity of 8,000 vehicles.

It was designed by international experts, taking into account the highest technological standards that help reduce entry, waiting, and exit time, which contributes to reducing carbon emissions, as it supports the use of electric cars by providing fast charging stations.

Eng. Ahmed Abdullah, Vice Chairman of Redcon for Offices and Commercial Centers (ROCC), said that the “Golden Gate” project includes 200,000 square meters of administrative and commercial spaces and is characterized by being based on the principles of green building. The project buildings have been registered for EDGE certification; a sustainable building certification supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

He explained that the finest sustainability details were taken into account. The project was designed with high ceilings ranging from 6 meters in commercial spaces to 4 meters in administrative ones.

This contributes, along with glass facades, to making the best use of natural lighting that helps increase the productivity of individuals and improve their mental state, as well as reduce power consumption.

The project also has high-efficiency glass facades that significantly reduce heat transfer from outside to inside and thus reduce the need for air conditioning, which reduces operating costs.

Plans and expansions

He explained that Redcon-ROCC is expected to deliver the first phase of the “Golden Gate” project in the third quarter of 2024, followed by the rest of the phases in succession until the project is fully delivered in 2027.

He added that the Company plans to implement similar projects based on sustainability principles in the new urban communities inside Cairo or other governorates outside the Greater Cairo Region. It will benefit from specific funding for green projects in its future expansions.

He pointed out that "the Company was present at COP27 to showcase its pioneering experience in green building and sustainability, learn about successful experiences in the transition towards sustainability, and get acquainted with the financing institutions that donate green finance."

Vision for the real estate sector

Eng. Ahmed Abdullah explained that the real estate sector is one of the most important economic sectors that have an influential role in the significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of up to 20%.

It includes about 12% of the labor force in Egypt, and it is considered a safe haven for investment in Egypt and many countries.

Therefore, it is required to develop solutions for the sector’s challenges, foremost of which is current inflation at the local and global levels resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the supply chain crisis, and the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as high interest and financing costs. These factors represent burdens on developers in terms of increasing the gap between financial flows and obligations.

He pointed out that there are many proposed solutions for facing these challenges that require the concerted efforts of the state and developers, including:

Unifying developers' efforts by accelerating the Developers Union's establishment, as workers in the sector have been waiting for the approval of the Developers Union Law for years.

Granting developers an additional period to implement projects without fines, taking into account the current economic challenges.

Considering the offering of lands and housing units under the usufruct system for specific periods to contribute to reducing the cost of acquiring lands or housing units.

The usufruct period shall be extended to a new usufruct period, or the usufruct right shall be transferred after the expiry of the period to the end customer who owns the unit and allows him to extend the usufruct period for specific amounts as applicable in several foreign countries.

Exporting real estate will be one of the essential solutions to provide stability for the real estate market and provide foreign currency for the economy, provided that determinants of real estate products suitable for export shall be set in line with the needs of the foreign customer.

He pointed out that during COP 27, the possibility of financing local projects in foreign currency was discussed in the case of payment in local currency. This topic was discussed with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which reported that it is required to consider the possibility of putting this system in place while calculating the cost of hedging against risks from changing the exchange rate.

They are putting Serviced Apartments on the map of exporting real estate and encouraging developers to expand their implementation due to high demand from foreigners who want to obtain permanent hotel service during their residence in the real estate without the need for recruiting workers.

Providing banking mechanisms allows the foreign customer to transfer the real estate sale value to his bank account in his country of origin in the same purchase currency when selling it. Spreading Sustainability:

He said that spreading green building and sustainability has become imperative to face environmental challenges and climate changes resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions must be reduced by reducing energy consumption, switching to clean energy, and preserving the environment’s natural resources, the most important of which is water.

This also includes reducing the use of natural resources through recycling, for example, the reuse of concrete debris resulting from construction work.

He added that "reducing energy consumption inside buildings and improving the indoor environmental quality in them contribute to saving energy, reducing operating expenses, improving the mental state of building workers, and, accordingly, increasing productivity."

This can be achieved by expanding the use of low-consumption LED light bulbs in all lighting units and motion sensors, especially in spaces of little use and street lighting.

This also includes the use of glass facades with high insulation efficiency, especially in the northern and eastern facades, which allow the entry of the most significant possible amount of daylight, reducing dependence on artificial lighting and, thus, power consumption.

It is also required to rely on District Cooling Plants in multi-building projects that produce Chilled Water through natural gas-fired coolers as a clean energy source with low carbon emissions and lower consumption costs.

In addition to reducing water consumption by rationalizing consumption and recycling basin drainage water “Gray water” after treatment to be used in irrigation. The efficiency of isolating surfaces and walls exposed to direct sunlight shall be considered.

It is also required to increase reliance on clean and renewable energy, especially solar power, by using solar panels to produce electricity during sunshine and relying on solar heaters, especially in residential buildings.

Eng. Ahmed Abdullah explained that "these previous measures lead to many positive results, the paramount is the reduction of energy and water consumption.

This, in turn, leads to a reduction in operating expenses by rates of up to 25-30%, which ultimately serves the interests of the customer, the end user of the real estate, and the developer in terms of the added value to its project.

Eng. Ahmed Abdullah pointed out the need for the state, represented by the Housing and Building National Research Center, to expedite the issuance of green building codes that will bind all workers in the construction field.

"This is one of the most important challenges that will create a road map for green building and make the parties of the construction system in Egypt, including consultants, developers, or contracting companies, responsible."

He emphasized that green financing is one of the most essential and beneficial solutions for both the developer and the customer. It is the trend the world will witness in light of the global trend toward sustainability and green building.

Developers will have to work to obtain accreditation certificates for their facilities from the Green Building Councils, which grant certified certificates for sustainable buildings, such as the EDGE certification supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.

It is a way to get green loans from Egyptian banks that grant a refund of the financing interest rate of up to 2.8% when obtaining the EDGE certification.

Golden Gate is the first 100% green administrative and

Commercial project

Façade of 1.25 km overlooking Southern 90th Street, in front of the American University in Cairo

200,000 square meters of administrative and commercial areas

250,000 square meters of underground garages

8,000-car garage capacity

Registering the project buildings for EDGE certification supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC)

6 meters: commercial space height; 4 meters: administrative space height

Glass facades let in sunlight to save energy and improve the mental state and productivity of workers

The first phase will be delivered in 2024

The project will be fully delivered in 2027