inside this issue the middle east observer...try of petroleum and mineral resources in...

Wednesday, 6 Dec. 201764th Year No. 49 L.E 4.85

توزيع جريدةطبع بمطابع دار لل�صحافة

In a special ceremony held in Shanghai last week, the National Bank of Egypt celebrated the ac-quisition of a license for its branch in Shanghai to operate with local currency, becoming the first Arab or African bank to obtain a license to deal in Renminbi.

Following the ceremony, Ghada Al-Bayli, Chief Executive Officer of the Treasury and International Financial Relations, said that the license was granted in light of the achievements of the Shanghai branch, whose property rights ex-

ceed US $35 million. Hisham Aka-sha, a senior NBE official, said that the National Bank of Egypt has sensed the future of trade relations and investment opportunities and the volume of tourism between the two countries.

He added that after eight years of continuous success achieved by the Bank›s representative office in Shanghai, which jumped from $800 million in 1999 to $4.7 billion in 2007, the Bank upgraded the rep-resentation office and became the first branch of an Arab or African

bank to be opened in China.The Shanghai branch has played

an important role in facilitating trade and investment cooperation not just between Egypt and Chi-na, but also between China and the Middle East and Africa. As a direct result of the close ties that the Shanghai branch has built with government officials the Chinese business and banking communities, it now has the expertise and abil-ity to meet and coordinate all in-vestment opportunities in Chinese, Arab and African markets.

NCB Obtains the Chinese license to Deal with local currency through its branch in Shanghai

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In a touch of national pride and loyalty, the board of directors of EPICO Pharmaceuticals Com-pany decided to donate 10 million pounds to Long Live Egypt Fund. The contribution will focus on the development and reconstruction of Sinai to alleviate the suffering of the people of Bir al-Abd in North Sinai. Dr. Olfat Ghorab, Head of Acdi-

ma (EPICO’s mother company) said that the country is in a fierce battle against terrorism and that the incident of Al-Rawda mosque in northern Sinai is the worst of

its kind. EPICO stands together to support the state in the face of ter-rorism and are confident that the

Egyptian government will succeed in Sinai.Dr. Ahmed Burhan Elddin Is-

mail, Chairman and Managing Director of EPICO Pharmaceuti-cals said that the Egyptian society is capable of defeating terrorism and that they are ready to offer financial support. He added that the Board of Directors of EIPICO confirmed that such crimes would only increase Egyptians’ perseverance to elimi-nate abhorrent terrorism.

EPICO donates 10 million pounds for development and reconstruction of Sinai

on pages 3, 4, 5 and 6

Inside this issue

Tourism supplementThe

Middle East ObserverFounded by Ahmed Fouda in 1958 جريدة ذى ميدل �إي�ست �أوبزرفر

Egypt’s exports to Russia between Janu-ary and September 2017, surged by 28.5% from $327.5 million last year to $421 mil-lion, Tareq Qabil, the Minister of Trade and Industry, announced last Friday.

Qabil made the remarks based on a re-port he received from the Egyptian Trade Office in Moscow on the indicators of bi-lateral trade during the first nine months of the year. The minister noted that the Egyptian ex-

ports to Russia during January-September 2017 exceeded those recorded in the whole 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Russia is one of the key markets that Egypt is seeking to increase its exports to, particularly in light of the on-going talks on a free trade agreement between the Eura-sian countries, most importantly Russia, and Egypt.

MEO team would like to thank MEO fans, as we have reached 150 thou-sand visitors to our site during the month of November 2017. We are al-ways working on improving our articles quality for our audience to meet their expectations. We sincerely look forward to your comments and sug-gestions for ways we can enrich your visit to our site, and welcome all your suggestions - [email protected]

Egypt’s exports to Russia surge 28% in Jan-Sept 2017

Hydro-electric propelled air travel by 2020

Reuters, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens have come together to develop a hydro-electric engine amid efforts to advance battery technology and lower flying costs.

Dubbed the E-Fan X pro-gram, the companies plan to fly a demonstrator aircraft in 2020 after, provisionally on a BAe 146 aircraft. “We see hydro-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation,” Air-bus Chief Technology Officer Paul Eremenko said in a joint statement. This is not the first mani-

festation of electric power in aviation. In October, a Seattle-area startup, backed by the venture capital arms of Boeing Co and JetBlue Airways Corp, announced plans to bring a small hybrid-electric commuter aircraft to market by 2022.

With solid steps towards economic pro-gress and firm hands combatting terrorism, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi leads the way in setting grounds for Egypt's future through honouring our commitments to Oil companies in a successful bid that's turn-ing Egypt into an Energy hub, driving the economy's industrial and business growth towards an open market economy through a shrewd monetary policy, injecting fund-ing to SMEs, expanding the industrial zones network and delivering indicators that prove Egypt's progress towards safety zone. On the other hand, Egypt is build-ing for the future through its engagement into mega infrastructural projects, being the foundations for Egypt's long term de-velopment plan, projects that are paving the way towards a stronger built economy. Further more, Egypt's tourism has picked up in 2017 beyond the past 2 years figures and the stock market promises a continued economic success in 2018.In the recent monthly survey of busi-

ness conditions in the Egyptian private sector, released by IHS (a strategic infor-mation and analysis service provider) in association with NBD, Daniel Richards, MENA Economist at Emirates NBD, said: “Egypt’s PMI readings turned positive in November, signalling an expansion in the non-oil sector for the first time in over two years. This suggests that the wide-ranging economic reforms embarked upon in No-vember 2016 as part of an IMF-sponsored programme are beginning to bear fruit. Strong sentiment towards future prospects chimes with our view that the Egyptian economy will continue to strengthen over the coming quarters.” Purchasing Manag-ers’ Index (PMI) is a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy. Egypt's PMI index rose from 48.4 to 50.7, the improvement was the strongest recorded since August 2015.Output in the Egyptian non-oil pri-

vate sector grew in November, ending a 25-month sequence of deterioration in re-sponse to a higher demand for Egyptian-produced goods and services during No-vember. Inflows of new work returned to growth, recording the fastest expansion for 27 months. Furthermore, demand from for-eign sources rose at the fastest pace since the survey began in response to higher output requirements and in anticipation of further growth, non-oil private sector companies increased their buying activity. Quantities of purchases rose at a solid rate overall, whilst pre-production inventories were accumulated at the fastest rate since November 2014.On the other hand, The Central Bank of

Egypt (CBE) announced lifting the cash limits for companies importing non-priori-ty products in a statement announcing that we are back in business as an open market economy, an announcement that comes with a solid increase in reserves from USD 36.723 bn at the end of November from USD 36.703 bn at the end of October. Fur-ther more, the CBE is continuing it's suc-

cessful fulfilment to Egypt's commitments by paying back $2 billion to the African Export-Import Bank on Monday , part of a $3.2 billion loan the central bank had taken from the lender, state news agency MENA reported on Monday. The central bank plans to pay back the remaining $1.2 bil-lion by the end of this month, MENA said. This comes in line with payments made to various Oil companies over the year, which has been reflected as well through the growing interest of Oil companies in coming to Egypt (Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla said that Exxon Mobil’s of-ficials are in talks with the Egyptian Minis-try of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in order to invest in the country’s oil and gas upstream sector).The CBE's decision should encourage

local importers and investors to expand into production by acquiring machinery and raw materials for local or re-export purposes, over the past year it has been a pre-dominant topic to expand into produc-tion by various capable importers. On this ground, Egypt has successfully launched

its first locally manufactured smart phone at the 21st edition of Cairo ICT 2017, the smart phone has nearly 50% of its com-ponents locally produced, the new mobile is manufactured by Sico Technology, our only recommendation is that sustaining such a product needs a continued invest-ment in Researh and Development (R&D) to gradually develop our competitive and innovative edge. Such a move towards industry is backed by huge investment's made to boost SMEs funding in Egypt, along with a wave of industrial zones that all reflect increased opportunities for in-dustrial growth within Egypt.

Further more, the Ministry of Tourism announced the Launch of the e-Visa portal project for Egyptian tourism, a movement that advocates the current inflow of tour-ism back to Egypt. According to an un-named government official speaking with Reuters news agency in October, Egypt’s tourism revenues jumped 211.8 percent year-on-year to $5.3 billion in the first nine months of 2017.

Egypt's stockmarket outperformed its neighbours in Gulf Cooperation Council GCC countries in November. Egypt’s main index gained in value by 1.67% during the month. The surge took place in late No-vember, after the Central Bank removed caps on deposits and withdrawals of for-eign currency for importers. Sentiment in Egypt was also boosted by an announce-ment from Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical Indus-try, one of Egypt’s largest drug distributors, that it plans to offer nearly 40 percent of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) in December. This offer is seen as the first of many other IPO’s that will take place in Egypt in 2018, adding to trading volumes and attracting foreign investment promises a continued economic success in 2018.

BY: Mahmoud Fouda Wasfy Shaker

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated on Sunday in Cairo the annual Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Conference.

Dr. Olfat Ghorab

By: Nagy Rashed

Dr. Ahmed Burhan Elddin Ismail

A Korean delegation in Egypt to study investment opportunities11 Korean companies will visit Egypt in De-

cember to study investment opportunities avail-able in the SC Zone and new administrative capital, according to Raouf Ghabbour, the head of the Egyptian-Korean Business Council.The delegations visit comes in light of the

10th joint meeting of the Egyptian-Korean Busi-ness Council, announcing that the visiting com-panies operate in fields such as energy, electric-ity, trade and machinery. Ghabbour added that the Trade Minister Tarek kabil will participate in the opening session of the Bussiness forum.

Egypt to injectEGP 4.8 billion in developing Sinai

Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced last Thursday that the Ministry would establish several develop-mental projects in North Sinai and South Sinai governorates worth EGP 4.8 billion.

The projects in North Sinai will be implemented at a cost of EGP 3.2 billion, he said. They will include 19 new devel-opmental Bedouin communities along with road projects, schools and administrative buildings, he added.As for South Sinai projects, the minister said they would

be set up at a cost of EGP 1.6 billion. They will comprise of seven new developmental Bedouin communities, road pro-jects and power supply networks, he added.

2017inEgypt's economic performance promises a continued success 2018

6 Dec.. 20172 www.meobserver.orgomeH

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that it reaches the different prov-inces in the morning. This will not only guarantee quality in the process, it will further lead to a reduction of fuel consumption by trucks working for each factory, traffic and lower accident-rates.

Have you received a reply from the Minister of Transport on this proposal?

The Minister of Transport fully welcomed the idea, and instructed his advisers to study the idea; to work on its implementation dur-ing the coming period. The min-ister also requested upgrading the trains' efficiency, for the transport of goods to cover all Egypt's prov-inces.

By: Mahmoud Hammad

Industry is the biggest beneficiary One year after the "floatation of the Egyptian pound"

How do you see rising prices of local or imported goods?

Prices of strategic products from abroad such as wheat, edible oils, and others are controlled by the prices of international stock ex-changes and if the price on the stock exchange drops it will affect the price of the product as well as falling foreign exchange rates in the domestic market.

But as for commodities and prod-ucts with 100% local and domes-tic inputs and raw materials, their unreasonable price increases is not fully justified in its current form.

So should the required costs be reassessed?

Yes, factories must re-evaluate the cost of producing and manu-facturing local products taking

into account the achievement of justice within their margin of profitability, the reason for the rising prices of food products cannot be justified by the in-crease of petroleum prices. And I send a message to the merchants: "Fear God in Egypt and its peo-ple". While government's review of this process is essential in de-veloping an updated and random monitoring of pricing.

Further more, the govern-ment must encourage local in-dustry by developing protection against imported products with local alternatives in the Egyp-tian market.

How do you evaluate the de-cision to float the pound after a year?

The floatation of the pound has had a positive impact on investment and industry. The proportion of the domestic components increased which has led to a 70% rise in the production capacity of factories, whilst the exchange rate has saved factories from closure given the availability of the dollar for im-porting raw materials needed, and industry become an effective con-tributor to the national economy.

Can we say that the industry is recovering or stabilizing?

The industry is starting to stabi-

ing a private company for transport-ing products via the railway. The proposal includes the establishment of a container for the transport of goods, that is either owned by the Railways Authority or a private company through the B.O.T system.

The proposal suggests transfer of the company's packaged prod-ucts to the station to be placed by fork lift on the trains desti-nations, whether Upper Egypt or otherwise, the goods are unloaded in stations of provinces along its destined route. The traffic on rail-way lines at night is almost non-existent and therefore the goods will be loaded onto the train so

lize, the currency crisis that affect-ed manufacturers and investors has ended. Long queues in banks have disappeared, but what we hope for is that the price of the dollar de-clines to a rate between 14 to 15 pounds, this will lead to a state of recovery, while its stability along the coming 5-6 years will lead to prosperity of the economy.

What about your meeting with the Minister of Transport and have you made any suggestions?

I presented to Hisham Arafat a proposal for the carriage of goods from factories to provinces by train in a scientific pattern, by establish-

Mr. El Saied Bassiouni, Chairman of the Food Industries Committee of the General Association of Tenth of Ramadan

Prices of local products must be monitored randomly due to unjustified pricingMr. Bassiouni, chairman of the food industries committee, Tenth of Ramadan inves-

tors Association, said there are unjustified price increases for many commodities and products with 100% local and domestic inputs and raw materials which requires a re-evaluation of the current costs of manufacturing for these products under a random state censorship and monitoring to avoid unreasonable price increases.

He added in an interview with "MEO" that he proposed to the Minister of Transport, Hisham Arafat, a proposal for the carriage of goods from factories to provinces by train in a scientific pattern, by establishing a private company for transporting prod-ucts via the railway.

The proposal includes the establishment of a container for the transport of goods, that is either owned by the Railways Authority or a private company through the B.O.T system.

He explained that, a year after the decision of the Central Bank of Egypt to float the pound, there is a positive impact on investment and industry.

The proportion of the domestic components increased which has led to a 70% rise in the production capacity of factories, whilst the exchange rate has saved factories from closure given the availability of the dollar for importing raw materials needed, and industry become an effective contributor to the national economy. Mr. El Saied Bassiouni

We made a proposal for "Arafat" to transport goods to the provinces by train

Within the framework of close cooperation between Egypt and Italy, the British University in Egypt has or-ganized the Egyptian-Italian Conference, regarding op-portunities and challenges for small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs, and technology-based entrepre-neurships. It opened on 20 November in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in Egypt Giampaolo Cantini, and a group of industrialist’s and investors from Egypt and Italy, led by Mr. Mo-hamed Farid Khamis, chair-man of the Egyptian Federa-tion of Investors Association and the Board of Trustees of the British University in Egypt.

The conference was car-ried out by the Marketing and Transfer of Technology Office of the British Uni-versity in Egypt in coopera-tion with the Scientific and Technological Office of the Italian Embassy in Cairo. Its aim is to link scientific re-search with industry, which is specifically important be-cause of the impact of SMEs on the economies of both Egypt and Italy.

On this occasion, the Ital-ian Ambassador praised the role played by the British University in Egypt in link-ing scientific research with the industry and supporting SMEs and entrepreneurship in the university. He also stressed the importance of the role of Egyptian uni-versities in developing the economy by providing com-panies with qualified gradu-ates and technical support. The conference was one of the first acts of the Italian ambassador in Egypt to sup-port scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries, reflecting his interest in entrepreneurship and the embassy's commit-ment to support such ini-tiatives and projects aimed, for the development of the Egyptian economy.

In his speech to the con-ference, Mohamed Farid Khamis affirmed that Egypt has started an economic breakthrough and has paid all of the previous invoices resulting from problems that have spread over many years. He also pointed out that the Egyptian economy needs to give serious sup-port to small and medium enterprises, stating that the development of SMEs is

through the establishment of large industrial clusters including marketing cent-ers as well as technical and financial support.

He stated that the gov-ernment has already started through the establishment of several industrial complexes in Badr city, leather tanner-ies in Al-Rubiky and furni-ture manufacturers in Da-mietta. He stated that Italy is the best economic partner for Egypt, both at the level of investment and trade ex-change, stressing the need to support the partnership especially with regard to the transfer of Italian experience in support of small and me-dium enterprises.

Professor Ahmed Hamad, President of the British Uni-versity in Egypt, said that the conference highlighted the importance of SMEs and entrepreneurship, especially among young people, their role in the development and promotion of the national economy and the reduction of unemployment rates.

He continued to say that the British University is working to increase the ef-ficiency of its graduates to meet the needs of the labor market; the university also aims to raise students' entre-preneurial knowledge and capabilities that will directly reflect the creation of small and medium-sized compa-nies.

This will, he said, di-rectly contribute to the development of the Egyp-tian economy through The Technology, Innovation and

Commercialization Office, TICO, and the Innovation Science Park that is under construction at the British University.

The activities of the con-ference began with the presentation of research activities and the transfer of technology at the Brit-ish University by Dr. Yahya Bahiuddin, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research.

He reviewed the innova-tions of students and young researchers to develop the mechanisms for marketing as well as the establishment of small companies through training programs on entre-preneurship, production and marketing to compete in the global market.

He also said that The Sci-ence Oasis will be managed in cooperation with the Chinese side and supported by funding programs from the European Union and US programs to develop the skills of innovators.

The Oasis has an area of nearly 20,000 square me-ters for incubators and small and medium enterprises in energy technologies, petro-chemicals, textiles, pharma-ceuticals and electronics.

This presentation was fol-lowed by a presentation by Dr. Claudio Margottini, Sci-entific Attaché of the Italian Embassy in Cairo, about the opportunities for scientific cooperation between the two countries in general, and be-tween the British University in Egypt and the universities and research centers in Italy in particular.

Mohamed Farid Khamis

gypt reshaping its Educational system

Sherif Abdelghaffar

In many countries, educational reform has been motivated by a variety of reasons generally aiming to address social adversities such as poverty and gender or class in-equities. For a country like Egypt, there have been noted shortcomings in its recent history on all of these these fronts. Consequently, educational reform has become an urgent necessity.

Furthermore, the outburst of violence driven by religious divisions and extremism in the Middle East has made it a crucial challenge for the Egyptian state to have some-thing to offer to its youth as an alternative to extremist ideologies. After all, the 30th of June revolution’s main goal was to overthrow the world’s biggest organized religious hate group the “Muslim Brotherhood”.

E

By: Hani Nazmy

Developing SMEs, Scientific cooperation and Knowledge transfer are key points for developing Egypt's Economy

Under this target president Ab-del Faffah El-Sisi formed Egypt's Presidential Council for Educa-tion and Scientific Research in September 2014. “The idea behind such councils is based on creating harmony between experts, youth, the presidency and the government.” said Tarek Shawky, the current Education minister and then secretary-gen-eral of all specialized councils affiliated to the Egyptian presi-dency. So how did this council contribute to Egypt’s educational reform given the fact that we are reaching the end of 2017?

The presidential council in co-operation with the Ministry of Education and an international consultancy body named “Imag-ine Education” created a train-ing program for teachers named “Teachers First”. This program was aimed at re-qualifying Egyp-tian teachers by increasing their skills in analyzing educational objectives in an innovative way, creating a better education en-vironment, upgrading teachers’ student evaluating methodolo-gies and shifting the focus on the student’s output more than the teacher’s input. In October 2016, the council celebrated graduating teachers for the first 100 schools. This program has been funded by a national donation account called “Tahya Masr” which the president set up for national de-velopment in 2014.

In January 2016, the council launched the Egyptian Knowl-edge Bank (EKB). It is a huge online knowledge hub that gives students, researchers and the pub-lic free access to educational and scientific publications worldwide. The Council signed agreements with 26 international publishing houses, as part of this project. Ac-cording to the Egyptian academy for science and technology press release, these publishing houses include National Geographic, Discovery, Cambridge, Oxford,

Reuters and Britannica. This portal allows free access only to people inside the Egyptian terri-tory and has four sub-portals, for children, students, researchers and general readers, to address a wide range of Internet users.

On 14th of November 2017, Tarek Shawky announced that the Ministry of Education is re-structuring the whole educational system mentioning 7 highlights that included a 4GB tablet for each student, connecting educa-tional curriculums to the knowl-edge bank (EKB), replacing high school grading system with a 3 year accumulation and creating an electronic file for each student.

According to al Watan news-paper, Shawky hopes to have a complete reform of the Egyptian

Educational system in 12 yearsas the ministry is currently requali-fying 10,000 teachers with the grand target of being able to pro-duce an internationally competi-tive student in 50 years.

On a more socio-political front, the council has been working on reversing a political decision made by President Nasser, which has been in place since the 1950s and that contributed to the dete-rioration of university education quality in Egypt. Nasser, be-cause he was seeking to increase his popularity, made university education free of charge for all high school graduates. Though the decision seemed appealing as it offered access to academic education for both the rich and the poor without limitations, the

Egyptian government’s budget has not been able to cover its costs since, which has resulted in declining quality over the years.

The council is working on changing this strategy by setting a minimum GPA percentage of 75% for tuition exempted stu-dents, high school graduates who achieve less than 75% GPA will have to pay full tuition, accord-ing to a statement by Shawky published in Al Masry el Youm. Regarding the quality of higher Education, since 2015, the coun-cil has been devising, with the Ministry of Higher Education, a comprehensive development strategy that includes a new high-er education law and a requalify-ing program for university pro-fessors. Vocational training has not been overlooked either, in a statement to Al Ahram newspa-per, Shawky said that the govern-ment has formed committees to restructure 152 higher vocational institutes for better results.

Shawky added that the coun-cil’s scope is not restricted to just technical and academic education as they also hold weekly training camps to concurrently teach ex-ecutive leadership and creative thinking to 20 students per work-shop from each university.

In December 2017, Saudi alarabiya.net published an arti-cle titled: “Why many Egyptians seem impressed by their new education minister.” In this ar-ticle, the writer Shounaz Meky described Shawky by saying: “To many, his vision of linking passion to learning sounded like a message of hope - a hope they shared and expressed as some-thing that could actually change in the country’s ailing education system.” It seems that with his in-troduction of modern methodolo-gies, technologies and priorities, Shawky has successfully initiated the educational renaissance that is so clearly required.

Wednesday, 6 Dec. 201764th Year No. 49

MEO Interview with Samy Soliman

Can you tell us more about the inves-tors association in Taba and Nuweiba?

Well we are an organized entity that includes several investors who have got investment projects in South Sinai, Nu-weiba and Taba.

How do you regard the strategic im-portance of the South Sinai zone?

There is no doubt that South Sinai is Egypt’s strategic border and it is actually a very significant area that deserves more attention. Nuweiba is also a very impor-tant area, as it is located in a central area in relation to Dahab, Sharm El Sheik and Cairo, this makes it a very strategic zone.

It is also a very fertile land; Wadi Watir in Nuweiba might be the most fertile area that receives rainwater every season. It also has Nuweiba harbor, which is very strategic as well. Safari and diving activi-ties might be the most common touristic activities in the South Sinai area.

In your opinion, what were the most successful tourism projects that took place in Egypt?

In my opinion, El Gouna is one of the most successful tourism projects that took place in Egypt. It is a very well studied project, a place where all the facilities of a good lifestyle is present. Big hotel chains, perfect weather, perfect use of natural re-sources, good use of solar energy, [along

with] available health and educational fa-cilities have made El Gouna a very suc-cessful example that must be duplicated.

What is your opinion about choosing Sharm El Sheik to hold the World Youth Forum?

It was a good choice, Sharm el Sheik is a big city; with a big number of hotels, a very secure area as well, with an inter-national airport. However, I believe there must be more attention given to infra-structure and establishing roads and large high ways around Sharm el Sheik.

How can we fasten the procedures of removing the bans that the United King-dom and Germany forced on trips to Egypt?

Well, I believe this is a purely political matter; however certain projects could be held to encourage them to come and visit and perceive Egypt as a safe country.

For example, we must invite more fa-mous British and German singers and art-ists and organize concerts in Egypt.

Is Internal tourism a temporary solu-tion to solve tourism crises?

Well I have done several initiatives, related to internal tourism; for sure it is important. We need to make more tourism initiatives tailored to various categories in Egypt. Furthermore, university students must be encouraged to visit various tour-

istic spots in Egypt.Internal tourism has a positive impact

on the tourism sector, however it cannot solve a crisis as we need foreign curren-cies and this can only be accomplished through tourists coming from abroad to visit.

Are there current significant projects in the South Sinai area?

Well we are constantly working and communicating with the Egyptian Minis-try of Investment; we called for establish-ing a free zone by Nuweiba harbor.

We are also calling for having an inter-

national airport in Nuweiba and expand-ing Taba airport.

There is a very significant point I would like to stress on it, which is the role of the media; media needs to stop promoting Si-nai, as a dangerous area. We need to stop the negative promotion.

I also believe that the national banks of Egypt must design special programs tai-lored to the tourism sector in Egypt.

In your opinion, how can we best de-velop the tourism sector in Egypt?

I believe that the sector will only flour-ish when the different ministries and par-ties collaborate to work together; it is not only the duty of the ministry of tourism; the ministry of interior has a role, ministry of antiquities, ministry of transportation has other vital roles; it is a circle that must be completed and worked upon.

What can be done to develop one of the most significant touristic destinations in Egypt, the Pyramids?

I believe, this area did really suffer from neglect for a very long time; all the services and facilities around the pyra-mids area need to be developed. There is also an idea I have previously suggested, which is opening the touristic spots in the afternoon; in the afternoon, there are few-er visitors; tourists will be able to enjoy the sights more. Streets will be prepared and cleaned to receive the tourists.

Strict laws must be applied as well against any violations.

This idea can be applied as well in the Egyptian museum, as this area is full of hotels, and many tourists, with late flights, coming to Egypt stay in these hotels; so why not give them the chance to enjoy night tours. By Amira Elhamy

had the pleasure, to conduct an interview with Mr. Samy Soliman, President of Investors Association in Taba and Nuweiba. MEO

3

President of Investors Association in Taba and NuweibaSamy Soliman

LuxorAncient Thebes, capital of the Pharoh's New Kingdom dynasty

and the world's living museum of civilisation and history. Lux-or is home to the Valley of the kings, a bundle of tombs and temples that has been called the biggest open air museum in the world. As well as, Karnak Temple, the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, the richest and most diversified design for a tem-ple honouring one of the strong ladies that governed Egypt. Exploring the colorful wall arts of the tombs and gazing at the colossal columns in the temples, Luxor continues to fascinate historians and archaeologists.

AswanEgypt's most tranquil town is Aswan, set upon the winding

curves of the Nile. Backed by orange-hued dunes this is the perfect place to stop and unwind for a few days and soak up the chilled-out atmosphere. Take the river ferry across to Elephantine Island and stroll the colorful streets of the Nubian villages. Ride a camel to the desert monastery of St. Simeon on the East Bank. Or just drink endless cups of tea on one of the riverboat restaurants, while watching the lateen-sailed feluccas drift past. There are plenty of historic sites here and numerous temples nearby, but one of Aswan's biggest highlights is simply kicking back and watching the river life go by.

The Nile-cruise between Luxor & Aswan This is nothing like a sea or an ocean cruise where

the shores are far, a nile cruise resembles a peaceful walk through the visible shores of an old civilisation, the trip covers visits to temples along the way from Luxor to Aswan, passing by Edfu, Esna and other sites, visiting temples and sites along your trip. The warmth of the the view along the day and night (es-pecially at sun rise and sun set) from your room or on-deck is entertaining and unforgettable.

Abu SimbelRamses II's great temple, resembles the great

astronomical and engineering skills reached by our ancestors. Two times in the year the sun rays pierce through the temple on the King's statue in-side the temple, once on his birth date and a sec-ond time on the date he became king of Egypt. The temple was set to disappear under the water because of the Aswan dam and during the 1960s in a massive UNESCO operation that took four years transferred the temple to higher grounds numbering the stones. The entire temple moved from its original setting to higher grounds, yet with all technology reached then the Sun ray backed one day from its original setting.

White Desert

Egypt's kookiest natural wonder is the White Desert where surre-ally shaped chalk mountains have created what looks like a snowy wonderland in the middle of the arid sand. The landscapes here look like something out of a science fiction movie with blindingly white boulders and iceberg-like pinnacles. For desert fans and adventur-ers, this is the ultimate weird playground, while anybody who's had their fill of temples and tombs will enjoy this spectacular natural scenery.

Siwa OasisSiwa is the tranquil tonic to the hustle of Egypt's cities. This

gorgeous little oasis, surrounded by date palm plantations and numerous fresh water springs, is one of the Western Desert's most picturesque spots. The town is centered around the ruins of a vast mud-brick citadel that dominates the view. This is a top spot to wind down and go slow for a few days as well as being an excellent base from which to plan adventures into the surrounding desert. The city is is surrounded by mythism, from stories of Alexander the Great visiting its temple and becom-ing a pharaoh and waters that cure diseases.

AlexandriaAlexandria has a history that not many others can

match. Founded by Alexander the Great, home of Cleopatra, and razzmatazz renegade city of the Mediter-ranean for much of its life, this seaside city has an ap-pealing days-gone-by atmosphere that can't be beaten. Although today, there are few historic remnants of its il-lustrious past - feted in songs and books - this is a place made for aimless strolling along the seashore Corniche, café-hopping, and souk shopping.

St. Catherine's MonasteryCatherine's stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, where Mo-

ses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. This desert monastery is home to an incredible collection of re-ligious iconography, art, and manuscripts (some of which can be seen in the on-site museum) as well as the home of the burning bush. For most visitors here, a trip to St. Cath-erine's also involves a hike up Mount Sinai to see sunrise or sunset. Take the camel path for the easy route or climb the famous Steps of Repentance if you want better views.

South SinaiEgypt's center for beach fun is the South Sinai region

on the Sinai Peninsula. Sharm el-Sheikh is a European-style resort full of luxury hotels, international restaurants, and bags of entertainment options. Dahab is a low-key beach town with a budget traveler heart, which is just as much about desert excursions and adventures as the sea. Up the coast, between the port town of Nuweiba and the border town of Taba, are the bamboo hut re-treats that offer complete get-away-from-it-all respites from life. Wherever you choose, the South Sinai is all about diving. The Red Sea is one of the top diving destinations in the world, and the South Sinai region is home to much of the best dive sites.

Luxor

Aswan

The Nile-cruise

Abu Simbel

Tourism in Upper Egypt & Sinai

Siwa Oasis

Alexandria

St. Catherine's Monastery

South Sinai

Luxor

Aswan

The Nile-cruise between Luxor & Aswan

Abu Simbel

White Desert

Siwa Oasis

Alexandria

St. Catherine's Monastery

South Sinai

Prepared by: Rania Imam Iman Rashed

The Middle East Observer does not have any responsibility for any mistakes, errors or changes in the tenders’ information. Such errors are the reponsibility of the companies that publish these tenders.

Healthcare, MedicalEquipment & Services

Banking, Insurance & Finance

Client: Ministry of Housing, Civilsand New Communities- The Agency of East Port Said De-velopment

Address: Port Said - Egypt Tender: Genera tender for supply of exection works of police station at the area of social housing area atthe cityTender documents: EGP1,000- Tenderss to be submitted in two en-velopes (technical & financial)

A bid bond of EGP200,000 to besubmitted

- A discussion session to be held on26-11-2017 at 10:00 am.

Opening envelopes : 10-12-2017at 12:00 noon.

Water & Sanitation

Client: Holding Company for Water& Sanitary Drainage

Water & sanitary drainage companyof Assiut & New ValleyAddress: Assiut, Egypt

Tel. & Fax: 0882131662Tender: 1) General tender Ref. IS2-

AS1-A for the project of water and sanitary drainage treatment stationat Moucha Village - AssiutTender documents: EGP10,000

A bid bond of EGP300,000 to besubmitted- The period of execution 11 months

- A discussion session to be held on2-12-2017

Opening envelopes : 16-12-2017at 10:00 am

2) General tender Ref. IS2-AS1-B for the project of water treatment and sanitary drainage works for the project of villages complex to Assiut (Rika - Dir Rika)Tender documents: EGP10,000

A bid bond of EGP2,500,000 to besubmitted- The period of execution 11 months


Opening envelopes : 17-12-2017at 10:00 am

Entertainment, Media, Sports & Leisure

7www.meobserver.org

usinessB pportunitiesO6 Dec. 2017

Client: Misr Petroleum Company Address: Canal Area, Al Raswa, door 41 customs, Port Said Tender: General tender No. 8/2017for supply of the advertising mate-

rial for El Menshawy Station, Bahr AlBakarTender documents: EGP400A bid bond of EGP3,000 to be sub-mitted

Opening envelopes : 11-12-2017at 11:00 am.

Management, Business and Human Resources

Client: Educational Syndicate Address: 3, Saraya Al Gezira Street, Zamalek, Cairo Tender: General bidding for the management and exploitation of Almasa Hall, which is located atthe Nile at Zamalek, CairoTender documents: EGP5,000

A bid bond of EGP90,000 to besubmittedOpening envelopes : 12-12-2017

Client: Banque Misr Address: 155, Mohamed Farid Street, Cairo, Egypt Tender: 1) General tender forsupply of 20 private carsTender documents: EGP2,500 A bid bond of EGP100,000 tobe submittedOpening envelopes : 10-12-2017 2) General tender for supply of 11ml window envelopes and4,200,000 accountant enve-lopesTender documents: EGP2,500 A bid bond of EGP79,000 tobe submittedOpening envelopes : 11-12-2017

Security ServicesClient: Anglo-American Hospital Address: Al Gezira - Cairo Tender: General tender for supply and erection of controlling camerasat the hospital.Tender documents: EGP500A bid bond of EGP5,000 to be sub-mittedOpening envelopes : 14-12-2017

Telecommunications, GIS & GPS

Client: EgyptAirAddress: Cairo Airport

Cairo - Egypt Tender: General tender No. 111/2017/2018 for supply of spare parts of the wireless apparatuses“Motorolla” brandTender documents: EGP1,000



Energy, Power, Electrical and Renewable Energy

Client: Cairo Airport Company Address: Cairo Airport, Cairo, Egypt Tender: General bidding for supplyof (2) electric towers 30M. on chas-saitTender documents: EGP5,000



Automobiles & Auto Parts

Client: Al Taawen Petroleum Address: 10, Maamal El Saboun - Sharabia, Cairo, Egypt Tender: General bidding No.28/2017 for supply of tubeless tyresTender documents: EGP5,000

A bid bond of EGP100,000 to besubmitted- Tenderss to be submitted in two en-velopes (technical & financial)


Banking, Insurance & FinanceClient: Arab Investment Bank Address: 8, Abde Al Khaleq Tharwat Street, Cairo, EgyptTender: Invitation for submit-ting offers for the bank branch- es a a square of 250m2 to350m2 a areas, modern buildings, principal streets, frontface not less than 8m.At the following areas:1) Cairo Governorate: Nasr City - Mukkatum - Manial - Madinety - Sheraton Buildings- Merghani Street - Korba area2) Giza Governorate: Mouhandessein - Alharam City- 6th of October - Mehwar Cen-tral area3) Alexandria Governorate: El Geish Road - Kournich andPrincipal streets4) Sharkia Governorate:Zagazig City5) Assiut Governorate:Assiut City N.B: Offers to be submitted to the bank to engineering sectorbefore 12-12-2017.

Water & Sanitation

Client: Damietta Water andWaste water Company

Address: DamiettaTender: Invitation for special-

ized contracting companies in water projects (water network, pumping stations and forcemains) to participate Ref. D-WS-

PIB-05 Kafr Soliman Ras El Baris funded by the local contribu-

tion of the improved water and wastewater service programme,phase I.Tender documents: EGP10,000

A bid bond of EGP1,350,000 tobe submitted

- Tenders to be submitted in twoenvelopes (technical & financial)

- A discussion session to be heldon 23-11-2017 at 11:00 am

Bid bond & Opening envelopes: 13-12-2017 at 12:00 noon

Architecture &Urban Development

Client : Egyptian-Japanese Univer-sity for Science and TechnologyAddress: Borg Al Arab - Egypt Tender : General tender for supply of complete contracting works for the students’ housing buildings (1,2, 4, 5, 6 & 7)Tender documents: EGP5,000 A bid bond of EGP420,000 to besubmittedOpening envelopes: 12-12-2017

Entertainment, Media, Sports & LeisureClient: Ein Shams University

Address: Abbassia, Cairo, EgyptTender: General tender for the re-

habilitation and renovation works ofthe theater at the Faculty of GirlsTender documents: EGP1,000


- A discussion session to be held on3-12-2017 at 12:00 noon

Opening envelopes : 3-1-2018 at12:00 noon

Security Services

Client: Ministry of Housing, Civils &New Communities - Agency of Development of NewDamietta City Address: Damietta City Tender: General tender for supplyof maintenance, cleaning, insur-

ance and security works for (205)building units at the national hous-ing areaTender documents: EGP1,000 A bid bond of EGP80,000 to besubmitted - A discussion session to be held on3-12-2017- Tenderss to be submitted in two en-velopes (technical & financial) Opening envelopes : 17-12-2017at 12:00 noon

Automobiles & Auto Parts

Client: Ministry of Housing, Civils &New Communities

Address: El Horria Street, El Sheikh Zaid, Cairo, Egypt Tender: General tender for supply of (150) cas (midi) notless than 29passengers capacityTender documents: EGP2,500

A bid bond of EGP1,560,000 to besubmitted


Fire Safety and Security

Client: EgyptAir Address: Cairo Airport Road, Cairo, Egypt Tender: 1) General tender No. 1026/2017/2018 for supply of (2)busses (credit sysem)Tender documents: EGP2,000

A bid bond of US$45,000 to besubmittedOpening envelopes : 14-12-20172) Rubber tyres of tractors ToyotaTender documents: EGP300

A bid bond of EGP10,000 to besubmittedOpening envelopes : 20-12-20173) Fire fighting equipmentTender documents: EGP500

A bid bond of EGP15,000 to besubmittedOpening envelopes : 24-12-2017

Laboratory Equipment & Services

Client: Electronics ResearchesInstitution

Address: Tahrir Street, Dokki, Giza Tender: General bidding No. (1)for supply of laboratory appara-

tuses and equipments, serverand wireless apparatusTender documents: EGP300Opening envelopes : 12-12-2017 at 12:00 noon.

Healthcare, Medical Equipment & Services

Client: National Institutions for Tu-mors

Address: Foum Al Khaleej - Cairo, Egypt Tender: General tender 71/27/18 for the execution of the project of thehospital development at first settle-ment (Phase I) points system.Tender documents: EGP25,000

A bid bond of EGP1,000,000 to besubmitted


Opening envelopes : 17-1-2018 at12:00 noon.

Machinery and Equipment

Client: Helwan Company For Engi-neering Industries

Address: Ein Helwan, Egypt Tender: General tender for supplyof the following tenders:

1) General tender No. 4/2017 for supply and erection of (1) unit CNC simultanos four axis vertical millingmachining center (X, Y, Z, a) axis.Tender documents: EGP1,000Opening envelopes : 10-12-20172) General tender No. 5/2017 for :

- Supply of 138,89 ton stainlesssteel coils

- Supply of 109,5 ton stainless steelsheets.Tender documents: EGP1,000Opening envelopes : 11-12-2017

Healthcare, MedicalEquipment & ServicesClient: Egyptian Company for Vac-cines, Serums and Medicines “EGY-FAC”

Address: 51, Wezaret Al ZeraaStreet, Azouza, Giza

Tel.: 02-37611111 Tender: General tender for supplyof medicinesTender documents: EGP200A bid bond of EGP5,000 to be sub-mittedOpening envelopes : 11-12-2017

Telecommunications,GIS and GPS

Client: Egyptian Company For Tel-ecommunications

Address: 24, Sharabia Street, Ghamra, Cairo Tender: General tender No. 422/2017/13 for the execution works of networks at Ismailia, Port SaidGovernoratesTender documents: EGP5,000- Tenderss to be submitted in two en-velopes (technical & financial)


Machinery and Equipment

Client: Ministry of Transport- Egyptian Company For Metro Man-agement and Processing

Address: Hammamat Al Kouba, Cairo, Egypt Tender: General tender Ref. 39/2017 for supply of spare parts forCairo Metro signals systemTender documents: EGP4,000


Opening envelopes : 17-12-2017at 12:00 noon

Paper & Packaging

Client: Dar Al Tahrir for Printing& PublishingDar El-Gomhouria Press

Address: 111-115 Ramses, Street, CairoTender: General tender for sup-

ply of printing paper & couchi paper of different sizes andweights.Tender documents: EGP500Opening envelopes : 10-12-2017 at 12:00 noon

Architecture & Urban Development

Client : Saudi Arabia’s EmbassyAddress: El Nil Street, Engi-neering Department Tel.: 02-37625000

Tender : General tender for thesupply of processing and main-

tenance works for the embassy’s building and the housing buildingand Garden city building and so-cial club building.Tender documents: US$100Opening envelopes: 20-12-2017

Water & Sanitation Client: Ministry of Water Re-sources and Irrigation- Mechanical Land Electrical De-partment.

Address: Tafteesh El Ray Street,Shoubra El Mazallat - CairoTel.: 02-22090794Fax: 02-22090976

Email: [email protected]: International Bid- fi-nanced by Saudi Fund for Devel-

opment - Loan No. 15/578 for thesupply of mechanical and elec-trical department for the con-

struction of new drain 7 drainagep.S. on turnkey basis.

Tender documents: EGP2,000 A bid bond of EUR7,200 +EGP1,20,000 to be submitted.40,000 to be submitted

- A discussion session will be held on 26-10-2017 at 10:00 am.Opening envelopes: 20-12-2017 at 12:00 noon.

EGyPTIAn ELECTRICITy TRAnSMISSIOn COMPAny

Development of 600MW BOO PV Power Project in West of nile Area with

participation of Private Sector

TEnDER nO. (21/2017/2018)

ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGyPT MInISTRy OF ELECTRICITy & REnEWABLE EnERGy

Request for prequalification documents EETC invites the experienced local/foreign developers/investors to submit

their technical and financial experience to Build Own Operate (BOO) photo- voltaic power plant with total installed capacity of 600MW in West of Nile Area under Usufruct Agreement with NREA, that the project land ownership will be transferred to NREA without any constraints by the end of the project life-time (25 years).

The developers will design, finance, construct, own and operate the plant.EETC will purchase the produced electricity accordingly to the conditions stat-ed in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).Developers should have previous experience in implementing three Photovol-taic Power Plants with at least a capacity of 100MW of each.

Bidders is requested to submit 3 financial statements audited by certified au-diting firm for the last 3 years. Pre-qualification Documents may be obtained from the following address on Sunday 10/12/2017:

Head of Purchases Sector Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC)

Emtedad Ramsis St., Abbassia, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt Tel & Fax: (+202) 22616537

Email: [email protected] Subsequent to a payment of 10000 USD in cash or check payable to the EETC’s bank account no. 659291, Export Development Bank of Egypt, Swift Code: EXDEEGCXRSH.The Pre-qualification Documents shall be submitted to EETC - Head of Pur- chases Sector - no later than Sunday 14/1/2018 at 12:00 noon.Qualified shortlisted developers will be invited to Build Own Operate photovol- taic power plant with total installed capacity of 600MW in West of Nile Area.