Written by Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press-Tanzania This week the President of Tanzania, Samia Suhulu Hassan, laid the foundation stone for the Egyptian industrial city in the district of Kigamboni, on the border of the city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The city, according to an official statement from the Egyptian cabinet, covers 2.2 million square meters (544 acres) and is expected to contain labor-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, automotive industries. , textiles and agriculture.
Costs
According to Ahmed Elsewedy, chairman and CEO of Elsewedy Electric, an Egyptian company, the group is overseeing the implementation of that city’s industrial complex projects. Elsewedy and the Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power station. , which will be built on the Rufiji River in Tanzania will cost $ 2.9 billion in cooperation with the Egyptian Arab Contractors Company. The city is aiming for investments of up to $ 400 million. And seeking to attract at least 100 investors from various countries in the region and that more than 50,000 job opportunities will be created for young people.
The laying of the foundation stone came after Hassan inaugurated the first phase of the Elsewedy industrial complex, which is located on an area of 120,000 square meters (30 acres) and contains several factories of cables, wires, meters of electricity, and transformers.
Code meters are electric meters that operate by a card system and are charged with a balance in order to restart electricity. This type of modern meter is an alternative to the bill meter system.
Many in one
The complex also houses a logistics center spanning an area of 4,800 square meters (1 acre) and is expected to produce the equipment needed for manufacturing and production in Tanzania. It will also provide more than 50,000 job opportunities for young people and include a vocational training academy for Tanzanian workers to meet international labor standards. It will also serve as a regional center for the export of wires, transformers, cables, electricity meters, and electrical insulators.
Strengthening ties
President Hassan stressed that the opening of the first phase of the industrial complex, which coincides with the laying of the foundation stone of the Egyptian industrial city, will pave the way for further cooperation and investment between the two sides.
On the other hand, Rashad Abdo, an Egyptian economic expert, and chairman of the Egyptian Forum for Political and Strategic Studies told Al-Monitor that Hassan’s laying of the foundation stone of an Egyptian industrial city is a serious and important step as economic relations between the two countries are concerned. Adding that the city will be an important investment milestone for Egyptian and African businessmen in Tanzania and neighboring countries.
Benefits for Egypt
Egypt believes that it is a matter of great economic feasibility for countries to engage in foreign investment. Every country in the world is looking to increase its exports and investments – both internally and externally – and the inauguration of an Egyptian industrial city in Tanzania will help increase the Egyptian state’s exports and increase its investment opportunities abroad, which will be very beneficial in Egypt. This will help provide hard currency and increase the cash reserve balance of the Central Bank of Egypt. This city will offer employment opportunities for young people on both sides as well as investment opportunities for Egyptian businessmen.
Egypt stressed that there is no doubt that the presence of their country in Tanzania and the will of the Tanzanian government to overcome the Obstacles to the inauguration of an Egyptian industrial city on Tanzanian lands is an encouraging and practical step towards more investment opportunities and closer cooperation between the two countries. This will benefit both parties.
Tanzania-Egypt bilateral ties
Relations between Egypt and Tanzania officially began in 1964 after Tanganyika formed a union with Zanzibar. The trade volume between the two countries was approximately $40m USD in 2020, with an imbalance favoring Egypt. Egyptian exports to Tanzania include food and chemical products, metals, small manufactured goods, and paper products. As for the imports, they include wood, raw leather, tea, and chemical products.
The Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station being built in Tanzania is a $2.9bn project that was awarded to Arab Contractors and El Sewedy Electric both Egyptian firms. The consortium won the bid competitively and is the largest valued project conducted by the two countries.
About the dam
Egyptian Housing Minister Assem el-Gazzar revealed that the project aims to build a dam 1,025 meters (0.6 mile) long at the top and 131 meters (430 feet) high with seven water outlets. The dam lake has a storage capacity of 34 billion cubic meters and includes a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 2,115 megawatts. The station is located in the Selous Game Reserve by the Rufiji River in the Morogoro region, southwest of Dar es Salaam. The project employs around 9,000 workers – 8,000 local Tanzanian workers and 1,000 Egyptian and foreign workers – and uses more than 1400 equipment.
The implementation of the river diversion tunnel – 703 meters (0.4 miles) long, 12 meters (39 feet) wide, and 17 meters (56 feet) high – had been completed in November. last year, and that both sides held power in Egypt -Tanzania Business Forum in Tanzania to discuss investment opportunities and joint cooperation.
