CAIRO: Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab inaugurated Saturday a new plant to produce photovoltaic cells with a 50-megawatt production capacity per year, Youm7 reported.

With a total cost estimated at 24 million EGP ($3.1m), the new plant was built over an area of 20,000 square kilometers in the headquarters of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI,) northeast of Cairo, according to Youm7.

A part from the photovoltaic cells, the new plant will also produce wind turbine accessories.

“The plant will help upgrading Egypt’s power system, implementing a new policy to rationalize electricity consumption in governmental authorities and public roads, and providing clean energy,” said Mahlab.

Egypt’s serious energy crisis, causing rolling power cuts across the country, is pushing the government to look beyond traditional power sources.

A trend to adopt solar energy systems has been announced by the government, which previously announced plans to illuminate roads and some tourist cities using renewable energy.

In March, the government announced the inauguration of the first solar power plant in Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt, as part of the aid projects granted by the United Arab Emirates to provide electricity for some 243 villages and cities in Egypt.

“With hourly 2,000 to 3,200 kilowatts solar energy for every square meter of Egyptian soil every year, the country has some of the highest levels of solar radiation in the world,” George Ayad, director of Sarens Group Egypt, was quoted cnegypt.com