Cairo, June 30 (Xinhua) — Journalist’s note | How vibrant is this industrial park jointly built by China and Egypt
The management personnel are busy receiving batches of guests who come for investment inspections, the workers in the factory are busy around the buzzing machines, the newly completed workshop is debugging the equipment delivered from China, and the land circled in the desert indicates that a new factory is about to be built… Xinhua News Agency reporters recently saw a vibrant scene in the Sino Egyptian Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (Teda Cooperation Zone) jointly built by China and Egypt.
“China’s joint construction of the ‘the Belt and Road’ initiative is consistent with Egypt’s development goals of the ‘2030 vision of sustainable development’, which is the backdrop for the vigorous development of Egypt China production capacity cooperation.” Walid Jamal al Din, president of the General Administration of Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone, told reporters.
We received 350 groups last year, and this year the heat is even stronger than last year. On the busiest day, we received 14 groups of guests, “said Gao Zhan, the manager of the investment promotion department of Egypt Teda Special Zone Development Company, the park management.” The current situation has exceeded our expectations
Almost every day there are inspection teams coming, and when busy, we receive three or four groups a day, “said Zhang Lifang, Executive Vice General Manager of Egypt Caidie Textile Co., Ltd.
The reporter learned that the TEDA Cooperation Zone has experienced a peak in enterprise settlement and investment inspections since last year. As of now, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has attracted a total of 185 enterprises to settle in, with an investment of about 3 billion US dollars and cumulative sales exceeding 5.3 billion US dollars.
From the perspective of enterprise scale, small and medium-sized private enterprises used to dominate. In the past two years, there has been an explosive growth in large-scale projects of listed companies. Last year alone, 8 industry-leading projects were implemented. From the perspective of decision-making cycle, some projects in the past took up to 5 years from investigation to implementation, while the fastest decision-making project last year only took 1 month from the beginning to signing and buying land, “said Cao Hui, Executive Director of Teda Special Zone Development Company in Egypt.
Not only is the decision-making cycle shortened, but the speed of project construction is also getting faster. In early May of this year, the emerging cast pipe factory in Egypt, which had been under construction for a year, was put into operation. Ma Ye, Vice Chairman of Xinxing Cast Pipe (Egypt) Co., Ltd., revealed that at the beginning of production, they have received orders from countries such as Egypt and Algeria.
Early settled companies are also expanding their scale. Our first phase project covers an area of 60000 square meters, and later we invested the profits from the first phase project into the second phase project of 160000 square meters, “said Wang Hongxiang, chairman of Egypt’s Pan Ocean Lechu Textile Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd., which produces blankets.
The TEDA Cooperation Zone also provides high-quality services for enterprises to settle down and take root. Jia Meiliding introduced that the cooperation zone not only successfully introduced Chinese investors, but also acted as a “go between” for communication between Egypt and China, helping both sides prevent possible problems.
Cao Hui proudly talked about the future of the cooperation zone: Currently, the 7.34 square kilometers of land in the cooperation zone have been sold out, and they are in talks with the General Administration of the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt to expand by another 3 square kilometers. The target enterprises in the new area have also been basically locked in.
The Teda Cooperation Zone has brought a large amount of Chinese investment and enterprises to Egypt, as well as the professional knowledge, technology, and equipment urgently needed for the development of industrial zones, helping Egypt fill some industrial gaps, “said Majid Munir, editor in chief of the Egyptian newspaper Pyramid
In addition, according to statistics, the park has created employment opportunities for about 10000 people in the local area. In the eyes of many Egyptians, this is a place to fulfill their dreams.
Dina Mahmoud Hassan, Deputy Manager of Planning and Logistics Department of Giant Stone Egypt Fiberglass Co., Ltd. (Giant Stone Egypt Company) and an Egyptian, told reporters in a factory building in the park, “When I first came here 12 years ago, this factory building did not exist, and there were no gardens or restaurants outside. There were not as many factories nearby as there are now. But now there are constantly new factories starting construction here, and the popularity is getting stronger and stronger
Some Egyptians have risen to management positions through hard work, and Dina is one of them. She joined Giant Stone Egypt Company after graduating from university in 2013. I originally planned to be an English teacher. But later I applied for a job here. After being accepted, my life completely changed, “said Dina. She started from a junior position as a production planner and took on increasingly important responsibilities through hard work, and her life continued to improve.
If I hadn’t joined the Giant Stone (Egyptian company) 12 years ago, I wouldn’t have had my current life, “said Dina.