Ahmed Abdelrazek, chairperson of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), has laid the foundation stone of a factory of Egyptian company Good Sense Egypt for aluminium panels, with Egyptian and Saudi investments in Ataqa, Suez worth nearly EGP 200m.
Abdelrazek said that the new factory is very important in terms of deepening local products in one of the most important industrial sectors, as it is considered the first of its kind to cover the gap of the local market, with an annual capacity of 3m sqm in the first phase, providing 70% of the needs of the local market and reducing the cost of importation.
Abdelrazek expects the project to meet the aluminium panels needs of the local market and to export the production surplus after the completion of the second phase of the project in 2020. The production capacity of the project will reach 5m sqm annually. He stressed that the project represents a real addition to the Egyptian national economy.
The IDA chairperson revealed that the project will be established on an area of 16,000 sqm in the area of Ataqa in Suez outside the free zone where lands were allocated for the project in order to begin operation in July.
The factory includes Egyptian investments with a participation rate of 25%, Chinese participation of 30%, and Saudi Arabian of 45%. This local-Arab-foreign cooperation reflects the confidence of local and international investors in the Egyptian economy in light of the recent legislative reforms represented in the Investment Law, in addition to a law to facilitate the procedures of industrial licensing and unifying the body investors deal with.
He noted that the economic reform plans are taking steady steps, and now Egypt has competitive advantages able to attract the attention of major international companies.
For his part, Mohamed Sherif, managing director of Well Bond Company for Manufacturing Aluminium Composite Panels (the Egyptian partner in the project), said that the new project is expected to start production within six months after obtaining licensing. He explained that the project is not energy-intensive and also takes into consideration environmental concerns with Chinese technology provided by the Chinese partner with 20 years of experience in aluminium panels manufacturing.
“Egypt is seeing a new investment climate and great economic growth. Chinese investors seek to seize this opportunity with a strong Egyptian partner,” said Yang Shijuan, chairperson of Good Sense, representing the Chinese side.
He added that the Chinese investors would like to expand their investments in Egypt in terms of construction materials with the Egyptian partners in other fields, such as painted aluminium panels, aluminium coils, quartz panels, marble panels, and sunlight-insulating panels, in addition to many other products that projects can be established in Egypt for.
