Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has given directives to the Suez Canal Authority to keep pursuing its strategy for the continuous development of the waterway and urged the Suez Canal Economic Zone (Sczone) to focus on optimising investment opportunities, localising technology and possessing an industrial capability.
The directives came in the course of President Sisi’s meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie, Sczone Chief Mohamed Yehia Zaki and Armed Forces Engineering Authority’s chairman Ihab el-Far, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.
The meeting was called for reviewing the performance and activities of the Suez Canal Authority and the investment projects of the economic zone.
Following a briefing on the rates of navigation in the Suez Canal, President Sisi gave directives to the SCA to continue undertaking projects within the framework of its strategy for the continuous development of the waterway, its navigation course and all associated utilities in order to enhance the Canal’s competitiveness and unique position in the global movement of trade.
In related directives, President Sisi called for focusing the strategic objectives of the SCEzone on maximizing investment opportunities, localizing technology and possessing an industrial capacity, Spokesman Radi said.
In this regard, the President urged concentration on compressing implementation of time frames for the establishment of industrial zones and attaching increasing importance to the localization of electric car industry and its feeding industries inside the economic zone.
Action in this direction, President Sisi explained, is conducive to keeping abreast with the global advances in electric manufacturing and the growing reliance on such vehicles.
Such action, the President added, corresponds with the state’s plan to maximize reliance on clean energy through the production of electric vehicles and to meet the Egyptian market’s demand for electric-powered vehicles.
In a presentation he gave during the meeting, SCA Chairman Rabie reviewed the overall indicators of the Authority’s functioning since the beginning of this year until now, referring in this regard to revenues, the numbers of transiting vessels and the volume of goods and cargo, which achieved remarkable rates of increase compared to the same period last year.
Other points outlined by SCA Chairman included the Authority’s works to develop the waterway’s southern navigation sector, moves to upgrade its fleet of tugs and dredgers and the efforts made to promote human cadre capacities.
