Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt to Start Production by 2022


Sun 18 Oct 2020 | 04:02 PM
Mohammad Elzoheiry

Russia's ambassador to Egypt, Georgy Borisenko, announced on Sunday that the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal axis will start production in 2022.

Borisenko also explained that the delay in construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant is due to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, affirming Russia's readiness to manufacture an anti-Coronavirus vaccine in Egypt.

"The first production expected from the Russian industrial zone, set to be established on the Suez Canal axis, will be in 2022, provided that the agreements to establish the zone are successfully completed during the next year, the zone will include 32 Russian companies." Borisenko told Al Akhbar newspaper.

"The project to establish a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal axis is underway, and there are some points that need to be resolved between the Egyptian and Russian sides," he added. "but we can confirm that there are 32 Russian companies interested in establishing factories and major storage areas in that zone, working in various fields such as foodindustry, plastics, electrical appliances and many other fields, Thus, transferring Russian technology to Egypt in several fields."

"However, these are private sector companies that need commercial advantages, so we are holding discussions with our Egyptian counterparts, to reach the best agreement for either Russian companies or for Egypt as well," Russia's ambassador to Egypt continued.

"Among the benefits for Egypt is the requirement that 90 percent of the workers in Russian projects should be Egyptians, in addition to exporting more Products with the (Made in Egypt) tag."

"Currently, negotiations are underway to finalize several agreements, which we hope will be ready next year," he added. "Thus, the Russian Industrial Zone will begin operating and the first production will come out in 2022, but not from all factories because some need more time."

The Russian ambassador to Cairo also pointed out to the possibility of manufacturing a Russian vaccine against the "Covid-19" pandemic in Egypt, explaining that the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Company (Pharco) had requested the vaccine, while supplying the vaccine would begin as soon as the deal is approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Health.

"We will be happy to supply more quantities of vaccine and help Egypt protect its citizens, because the ordered quantity is not sufficient for the Egyptian people, who currently exceed 101 million people." he said.

"If Egypt needed more, the Russian Direct Investment Fund may give a license to manufacture the vaccine in Egypt, and this will be of great benefit to Egyptian companies, providing job opportunities and giving Egypt the opportunity to be a center for exporting the vaccine to African countries." he added.

Borisenko stressed Russia's interest in trade relations with Egypt as it is the main gateway to Africa, saying: "We are interested in strengthening our economic relations through several projects such as the Russian Industrial Zone, and several major contracts such as supplying 1300 railway carriage through the Russian company Transmash, in partnership with Hungary."

Borisenko also affirmed that the work at the Dabaa nuclear plant is ongoing as he said: “Work is underway to complete the nuclear plant, and it must be noted that nuclear plants need a long time to be built, and therefore it is a normal thing that building a nuclear plant takes at least 10 years, in addition to the unfortunate impact of the new Coronavirus outbreak on the construction  of the station."

The Russian ambassador to Cairo also expressed his country's desire to resume flights with Egypt, "

Also, Borisenko criticized the (deal of the century) which, according to him, stimulated Israel to annex more Palestinian lands and the Syrian Golan Heights.

Finally, Russia's ambassador praised the relations between the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stressing that "good relations between the leaders is important to resolve any differences, and we are happy with the presence of Egypt as a close friend, and we are working to develop our relations not only at the presidential level, as the two countries' foreign ministers are communicating on a permanent basis nowadays."