Media Eye | TEDA Cooperation Zone Helps China and Egypt to Build "the belt and road initiative" with High Quality"

Source Xinhua News Agency

Reporter Yao Bing Dong Xiuzhu Zhang Jian
In the desert on the coast of the Red Sea in Egypt, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (TEDA Cooperation Zone) is full of vitality, constantly attracting enterprises to settle in and projects to land, and gradually becoming a demonstration project connecting China's "Belt and Road Initiative" initiative and Egypt's "Suez Canal Corridor Economic Belt.

The TEDA Cooperation Zone, which was founded in 2008, is located in the port of Sukhnaiquan in Suez Province, Egypt, more than 120 kilometers away from the capital Cairo. The cooperation zone is divided into a starting area and an expansion area. The starting area has been fully developed and the expansion area was unveiled in January 2016.

According to Xu Qifeng, executive director of the Egyptian TEDA Investment Company, which is responsible for the operation of the TEDA Cooperation Zone, since the beginning of this year, the commercial real estate sector of the TEDA Cooperation Zone has ushered in a number of major projects, and the momentum of investment promotion is gratifying.

On March 27, China Xinxing Casting Pipe Co., Ltd. signed a land purchase agreement with the Egyptian TEDA Special Zone Development Company, which is responsible for the development of the TEDA cooperation zone, marking the company's annual output of 250000 tons of ductile iron pipe project officially entered the TEDA Park. A month later, the project held a groundbreaking ceremony, the project plant officially entered the construction phase.

Ma Ye, head of the Egyptian project of Xinxing Casting Pipe Company, said that the project plans to invest about 0.145 billion US dollars, with an annual output of 250000 tons of ductile iron pipes, mainly supplying the Middle East, Africa, Europe and other regions. The project is expected to bring Egypt nearly US $0.2 billion a year in foreign exchange income and provide more than 500 local jobs.

In his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, Walid Jamaldin, chairman of the General Administration of the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt, said that the successful landing of the emerging cast pipe project is very important to promote the development of Egypt's industrialization. it is of great and far-reaching significance to further strengthen the regional economy, promote the adjustment of industrial structure, and speed up the process of industrialization.

In addition to the emerging cast pipe project, Saudi Arabia's Haiftrakert Logistics Group, Syria's Fayez Automobile Company and China's Tide Royal Logistics Co., Ltd. have also recently signed land purchase contracts with Egypt's Teda Special Zone Development Company to enter the Teda Cooperation Zone.

As of April this year, the TEDA Cooperation Zone has attracted more than 3 billion US dollars of investment and about 160 enterprises have settled in.

The popularity of investment promotion is also reflected in the endless stream of teams coming to inspect. "Since this year, we have received 50 or 60 delegation groups." Wei Jianqing, deputy general manager of China-Africa TEDA Investment Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters in the TEDA Cooperation Zone recently that with the advancement of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", more and more domestic manufacturing companies are going overseas. The TEDA Cooperation Zone is for these companies. Provides a platform for investment and business.

"Egypt has a strong desire for new energy, new materials and green environmental protection industries." Qu Defu, chairman of Tianjin TEDA Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters in the TEDA Cooperation Zone recently that in the process of promoting Egypt's technological development and industrial upgrading, the TEDA Cooperation Zone focuses on attracting new energy companies, using new energy materials, and actively guiding companies Pay attention to environmental protection and take the path of green and low-carbon development.

Xidian-EGEMAC High Voltage Electric Co., Ltd., a Sino-Egyptian joint venture, is one of the leading enterprises in the park. It is mainly based in Egypt and provides power transmission and transformation equipment and complete engineering services to the Middle East and African markets. According to Shi Chen, general manager of XD-EGEMAC, the completion of XD's Egypt base has officially made Egypt the first country in the Middle East and North Africa with the manufacturing capacity of 500 kV ultra-high voltage power transformers and gas-insulated metal-enclosed switchgear, which has strongly supported the rapid development of Egypt's power industry.

"We actively respond to the national carbon peak carbon neutral call, adjust the direction of market development, attention to the development of new energy projects in Egypt." Shi Chen said: the company closely follows the "Belt and Road Initiative" initiative. In the past, it was "products going out and enterprises going out." now it is gradually realizing "standards going out, management going out, and experience going out".

Xu Qifeng said that while realizing the expansion of reproduction of existing park enterprises, the cooperation zone has done a good job in expanding soft services to the outside world, undertaking other Egyptian enterprises and park-related service businesses, bringing the successful experience of China's economic and trade development zones to the development of surrounding areas, and helping to jointly build the high-quality development of "the belt and road initiative.

At the same time, the vigorous development of the TEDA cooperation zone has cultivated many local talents for Egypt. Ahmed Radwan, CEO of Egypt's TEDA Investment Company, said that in the TEDA cooperation zone, the company provides them with training and even opportunities to study in China in order to improve the level of employees and managers. "I have been to China five times, which has enriched my knowledge and professional skills."

"The localized and integrated development of enterprises is inseparable from the efforts of the TEDA Cooperation Zone to attach importance to the localized construction of talents." Xu Qifeng said that up to now, the cooperation zone has directly solved more than 9000 jobs, and the industry has driven about 70000 jobs. It has reserved a group of excellent park development and construction management talents for Egypt, and the enterprises entering the zone have trained a group of professional and technical workers and enterprises for Egypt. Management personnel.

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