The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced it has stopped the import of all tuk-tuk components in implementation of a Cabinet decision on October 10, as part of a plan to replace and tuk-tuk with minivans.
The decision came as a surprise, and factories were not informed of it before its issuance according to the head of the Transportation Division at the Federation of Industries Ayman Saeed.
Saeed expressed the division’s support for the decision so long as it does not cause large losses to the factories working in assembling tuk-tuks.
He called for a legal deadline for the factories to adjust their conditions and dispose of their stocks to reduce the tuk-tuk industry workers losses as much as possible.
The division will also hold a meeting with the affected factories to listen to their requests and submit it to the concerned authorities, he added.
In Egypt, three major entities work in the field of assembling tuk-tuks, namely the Ghabbour Group, which controls 80 percent of the market, a factory affiliated with the Raya Group, and a factory affiliated with the Ezz Elarab Automotive Group.
Regarding a proposal to converting tuk-tuk production lines to manufacture minivans, Saeed said that the two production lines have different requirements.
A source in a tuk-tuk production factory said that workers were surprised by the published decision, adding that some shipments were already on its way to Egypt, wondering about the possibility of allowing its entry.
The cabinet formed a committee in March headed by the minister of trade and industry and a number of representatives of the concerned authorities, to set the executive and financing mechanisms for a project to replace tuk-tuk with minivans across Egypt.
The committee was granted a deadline to come up with proposals until May.
Former Minister of Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour issued a decision in 2014 to stop importing tuk-tuks permanently, while allowing the import of its production components only.
