Sharjah: Mulk Holding, the multinational manufacturing, energy and construction conglomerate based in the UAE, will soon launch its Dh300 million solar panel production facility in Sharjah.

Scheduled to start production next month the facility will have the capacity to produce 200 megawatts of energy and is expected to generate an annual revenue of over Dh1 billion.

The company is working on a research and development facility for solar panels and has started manufacturing its prototype of a solar panel, made of aluminium rather than the traditional glass to bring down the panel's weight component.

It will commercialise the product under the brand Suntrof Mulk Energy Group in 18 months, under a joint venture between Mulk Holdings and Suntrof, the US firm.

"The UAE is the largest market for solar energy right now," Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman of the group said, mentioning the $8 billion Masdar, the zero-carbon city project by the Abu Dhabi Government.

He added that other emirates are also looking to increase their capacity of solar energy, including Dubai, which provides sustainable opportunities in this market.

The company is involved in solar energy projects within the development of Masdar, as well as building the city's facades.

Additionally, the company is also opening up another facility for aluminium composite panel production, at an investment of Dh100 million.

The group, with an annual turnover of Dh1 billion last year, will add another Dh120 million sales capacity from the 400,000 square foot facility to its existing production line revenues of Dh500 million.

Medicine: New Dh3m prototype

Gulf Hawk Telemedicine (GHT), the medical arm of the group, has invested Dh3 million to create a prototype called Mulk Digitiser and other devices used to transfer patient data for the process of Telemedicine, which provides access to international doctors without the necessity to travel. Shafi Ul Mulk, director of the group and head of GHT, said that the company has introduced Tele-radiology in the UAE.