ROLE OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE FIELD OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN EGYPT

 
Egypt is aiming at increasing the share of renewable energy from the total energy production in 2035 sustainable energy strategy of the country. Renewable energy production is planned to cover 20 % of the total energy production by 2022 and to reach 42 % by 2035. At the same time, Egypt is seeking to attract more foreign direct investments in order to help the country’s economy. The present work aims at studying the role of foreign direct investment in the field of renewable energy in Egypt during the period from 2009 to 2019. The present study adopted the inductive approach, and the methodology included four steps: 1) determination of the required data, 2) Identification of the entities responsible for providing the required data, which is the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the New and Renewable Energy Development and Use Authority (NREA), and the Holding Company For Egypt Electricity and also the Hydro Power Plant Executive Authority )HPPEA), 3) Officially addressing these authorities to obtain the required data, 4) Data processing and interpretation. Main findings of the study include: 1) Results showed that the industrial sector had the largest share of foreign direct investment during the study time frame followed by finance sector, services sector, structural sector, agricultural sector, telecommunications and information technology sector while tourism sector came at the last position, 2) Egyptian contribution to the field of traditional energy such as power stations and petroleum services exceeds the contribution of foreigners by 84% of the total investment in this field, 3) The contribution of foreigners in the field of renewable energy in government projects exceeds the contribution of Egyptians by 77%, while in private sector projects, the contribution of foreigners exceeds that of Egyptians by 88% of the total investments in these projects, 4) There are 40 foreign countries investing in Egypt in the field of renewable energy, and the Netherlands alone accounts for 52% of the total foreign direct investment in the field of renewable energy in Egypt. The present study recommends the necessity of linking foreign direct investment plans with sustainable development plans. A more in-depth study of Egypt's potentialities in the field of renewable energy and relying upon it to attract more foreign direct investment is highly recommended. Databases connected the subject of concern at the relevant authorities should be connected and well-built and allowed for researchers which in return will help the country in better understand the needs and improvements that may be considered in future plans.