By Ahmed El-Adly
The Korea Marine Equipment Association (KOMEA) plans to invest $500m in the Suez Canal Zone and the Port Said shipyard.
KOMEA added that there are 20 Korean marine equipment manufacturing companies ready to come to the area.
“After the New Suez Canal’s opening, we are ready to cooperate with the Egyptian government in the marine equipment manufacturing field,” Chang Soo Chung, KOMEA’s Managing Director, told Daily News Egypt.
Last Tuesday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) held a road show organised by the Korean Embassy to Cairo’s Commercial Office, in cooperation with KOMEA, with the attendance of 10 Korean marine sector companies.
Chang added that 20 companies specialised in the marine equipment industry intend to invest in the Suez Canal area and the Port Said shipyard, with expected investments estimated at $500m.
“The Suez Canal is a main route for our ships, and because Korea has advanced technologies in marine equipment manufacturing, we are ready to cooperate with Egypt,” Chang said.
He added that Korean companies can cooperate with Egypt on technical factors, and also, if necessary, they can undertake joint ventures with the Suez Canal area.
Jamal Khalid, from the SCA, told Daily News Egypt that the authority has completed studies on the building of a modern and high-level arsenal for shipbuilding and marine equipment manufacturing on the opposite side of the new Port Said port.
Khalid said the new arsenal will cover 670,000 sqm, with total investments estimated at EGP 20bn. He added that the SCA will chose between two offers for investments in the region, the first of which is from the UAE, with the second from China.
Khalid added that the new arsenal will not be limited to maintenance of ships belonging to the SCA, but will be designed to fix all ships passing through the canal.
He added that the new shipyard will be equipped to build naval units serving the ships passing through the Mediterranean Sea, whilst also carrying out maintenance works on oil rigs and oil drilling units. It will also serve the maintenance of marine units up to 500,000 tonnes.
Khalid pointed out that part of the infrastructure already exists, including sidewalks and power cables, with the roads leading to the arsenal scheduled for preparation during the current period. He added that all offers are currently being studied, although the Chinese offer currently stands as the best one received so far, especially as they already have the funds available.
