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27 min ago 2 min read
The utilities arm of the Suez Canal Economic Zone has launched a pipelines & energy division.
It will award projects covering ‘multi-product pipeline systems for clean and sustainable fuels,’ according to a statement.
The ambitious economic zone covers four integrated industrial zones and six affiliated seaports along the Mediterranean and Red Sea corridors. Investment has topped $7.1bn this year.
Industrial opportunities are in the spotlight this week after Egypt and China signed five agreements and memoranda of understanding to deepen co-operation across several strategic sectors during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Cairo.
Egypt, with a population of more than 100 million, enjoys a strategically critical position, controlling the Suez Canal and sitting between Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
For Chinese companies, it is both a large market and a possible manufacturing and logistics base for onward trade – both attractive propositions in the context of the ongoing Iran war which has heavily disrupted GCC trade flows.
China has been Egypt’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. The China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone now hosts over 200 companies and provides more than 10,000 jobs.
But the bilateral trade is heavily imbalanced, with Egyptian imports ($10.43bn) far outweighing exports to China ($600m) during the first half of this year.
Egypt’s Ministry of Industry is placing more emphasis on energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon emissions among its strategic 2030 priorities.
It wants to enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian products, lower operating costs, and prepare the industrial sector for global market requirements and environmental sustainability standards – competing with heavyweights such as China and India.
Industrial gases major Air Liquide has been exploring new investment opportunities in Egypt after a delegation held talks with Egyptian ministers .
