Several major Chinese companies held meetings with Egyptian government officials on Monday to discuss pumping new investments into industrial projects exceeding two billion dollars.
This aims to support the government’s plans to transform Egypt into a regional manufacturing center.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development, Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel al-Wazir met with the Chairman of Xinfeng Egypt for iron products, Tian Haikui, to discuss the latest developments regarding the plan to establish an integrated industrial complex with total investments of US$1.65 billion within the integrated Sokhna area affiliated with the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Wazir pointed out the Ministry of Industry’s keenness to provide all forms of support to the company, which includes accelerating the procedures for obtaining industrial licenses and other procedures related to establishing factories, in addition to reducing the period for establishing the project, operating it and starting production.
Egypt is open to all foreign companies to pump new investments and establish huge factories that contribute to localizing various industries in it, he noted, with the aim of transforming Egypt into a regional industrial center.
Wazir said that the complex includes nine factories on an area of 3.75 million square meters, with total investments of US$ 1.65 billion, in two phases over five years – the first phase including four factories, and the second phase including five factories.
He noted that the complex is expected to provide about 8,000 direct job opportunities.
The Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Walid Gamal-Eddin, hailed the importance of the integrated project of the Xinfeng Company, whose products support many other industries targeted for localization within the Suez Canal Zone, such as the automotive industry and various means of transportation, as well as the electrical appliances industry, which supports the state’s efforts to enhance the local component in industries.
Further investments
The Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Hossam Heiba, discussed with a delegation from the Chinese Lutai Group, the largest producer of dyed fabrics and shirts in the world, about the company’s plan to establish its first factories in Egypt at an investment cost of US$385 million.
The head of the authority said that the Chinese Lutai Group is qualified to obtain the maximum financial and regulatory incentives stipulated by the investment law, as the company’s plans are in line with the government’s development orientations in terms of technology localization, intensive employment, investment for export, and development of priority areas for development.
The company’s global marketing director, Liu Deming, explained that it seeks to establish a complete supply chain in Egypt, starting from yarn manufacturing to fabrics and ending with clothing.
All products will be directed to the foreign market at a 100 percent export rate, Deming added, noting that the company will transfer its technological expertise to the Egyptian market, as it adopts the latest and most complete spinning systems in the world.
