Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Chairman Waleid Gamaleldien speaks during an interview with Xinhua at China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
AIN SOKHNA, Egypt, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by several Egyptian and Chinese officials, businessmen and diplomats, including representatives from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), Chinese industrial developer Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), and the Chinese embassy in Cairo.
The new line has a production capacity of 120,000 metric tons of fiberglass annually to meet the needs of the markets in Europe, the United States and the Middle East, said Zhang Wenchao, oversea director of China Jushi.
Established in Suez in 2012, Jushi Egypt completed a fiberglass production base with an annual output of 220,000 metric tons in August 2018, so the new line will increase its total production capacity in Egypt to 340,000 metric tons per year, Zhang explained.
Jushi Egypt provides hundreds of job opportunities for Egyptians, as about 98 percent of its employees are Egyptians.
"The new fiberglass production line has added 600 new employees to Jushi Egypt's manpower, raising the total number of employees in the venture to 2,200," said Wu Ping, the general manager of Jushi Egypt.
SCZone officials lauded the win-win cooperation between Egypt and China Jushi, whose joint venture has made Egypt the 4th largest fiberglass maker in the world, exporting more than 95 percent of Jushi Egypt's production to Europe and the Americas.
"This shows how the SCZone can be used as an export hub for the Chinese companies operating in Egypt," SCZone Chairman Waleid Gamaleldien told Xinhua at the inauguration ceremony.
"Jushi for us is a very successful story. It provides direct and indirect employment and uses local labor in investment. It is one of the very important Chinese investments in Egypt," said Gamaleldien.
He invited more Chinese companies to come and invest in the zone "to utilize its advantages, strategic location, ability to export to other neighboring countries, and a lot of other benefits provided by the SCZone."
The Jushi Egypt new production line came a few days after the remarkable first China-Arab summit was concluded in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
Gamaleldien said that the summit "showcases how important the Arab world is to China and how important China is to the Arab world" and marks a beginning of "a new era" of China-Arab cooperation.
Jushi Egypt is a tenant of China's TEDA, one of the oldest and largest industrial developers in the SCZone that is developing an area of 7.34 square km in the region.
Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said that TEDA is a demonstration of China-Egypt cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, stressing that the joint project has achieved positive development results with the strong support of the governments of both countries.
"It is also an important platform for China-Egypt investment cooperation," Liao said at the ceremony, noting that TEDA has created about 50,000 jobs for Egyptians.
"As the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries continues to deepen, I believe that more and more outstanding Chinese companies like Jushi will come to the SCZone to invest and start businesses in Egypt," said the Chinese ambassador. ■
Workers work on the new fiberglass production line of China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Workers work on the new fiberglass production line of China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Workers work on the new fiberglass production line of China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Workers work on the new fiberglass production line of China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Workers work on the new fiberglass production line of China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi in Suez province, Egypt, Dec. 15, 2022. China's giant fiberglass producer Jushi on Thursday inaugurated a new production line at its Egyptian factory located in Ain Sokhna of the Suez province. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)