Sisi Inaugurates National Projects in Beni Suef

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi attended the inauguration ceremony of a number of national projects in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Beni Suef.

These projects include an industrial complex for producing cement and marble, which is going to be one of the largest in terms of productivity in Egypt and the Middle East.

Attending the ceremony were Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohamed Zaki and several other minsters and State officials.

Head of the National Services Projects Agency Major General Moustafa Amin made a presentation explaining that the project was set up in line with the comprehensive development plans in Egypt.

It is also aimed at supporting housing and reconstruction projects in Egypt, he pointed out, adding that the project comes in accordance with directives by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

He further noted that the president urged adding two production lines to Arish cement complex to be four in number. The Beni Suef and Arish projects are implemented by the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces in cooperation with the Chinese CDI company and the Italian Pedrini company, he added.

Today's projects in Beni Suef and Arish were implemented in only 21 months, he indicated.

Egypt is one of the first countries in the world to produce cement as the first cement production factory was set up on its land in 1911, he added. Major General Moustafa Amin added that the production of cement in Egypt over the past 10 years did not cope up with the demand of the local market.

He added that providing building and reconstruction materials, atop of which comes cement, in affordable prices is one of the most important challenges facing housing and infrastructure projects in Egypt.

The expected consumption of building materials by the end of this year will hit 59 million tons to increase in 2022 to reach 86 million tons, he added. Beni Suef project is set up over an area of five million square meters and includes three factories with six production lines at a total production capacity of 12 million tons annually, he indicated.

He asserted that the projects in Beni Suef and Arish are established in line with all ecological and health standards applied internationally. The Beni Suef project provides up to 1,800 direct jobs and around 8,000 indirect ones, he indicated.

The new production lines of cement in Beni Suef and Arish will add up to 15.3 million tons of cement annually so that the total local production will increase from nearly 55 million tons to roughly 70 million tons annually, he added.

Egyptian deserts are full of natural resources such as marble and granite that need to be tapped, he said, adding that several international companies are competing for importing marble and granite from Egypt. Egypt ranks seventh on the international list of countries producing marble and granite, he added.

Major General Moustafa Amin said that the project is implemented according to directives by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. The marble and granite complex in Beni Suef is set up on an area of 200,000 square meters and includes five factories for producing marble along with two others for granite, he added.

The overall production capacity of the complex hits 3.6 million meters of granite and marble annually, he indicated. The project provides 750 direct jobs and around 2,000 indirect jobs, he pointed out.

The project also includes administrative buildings plus residential units for up to 300 workers along with recreational places and green areas, he noted.

Other similar projects are underway in other governorates including five industrial complexes for granite and marble in Central Sinai, Meniya, Raas Sidr, Ain Sokhna and Aswan, he added.

They will be inaugurated next year in January, February, April and July respectively, he added.