Egypt inaugurates five new factories in Sohag

Egypt’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Qabil has inaugurated Saturday five new factories in Sohag, some 500 kilometers south of Cairo.

Designated to provide around 500 direct job opportunities, the factories are for manufacturing desert coolers, compressed wood, fodders, and plastic products, with investments totalling 185 million Egyptian pounds ($10.3 million).

The first factory for manufacturing compressed wood is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, with investments worth 100 million pounds and potentials to provide 180 direct jobs, Minister Qabil told reporters.

It aims to make the best use of agricultural waste by opening two other plants; one for MDF wood production and another for décor panels in the coming period, he said.

As for the second factory, it will be for the production of animal and poultry fodders, with investments worth 15 million pounds, set to provide 25 direct jobs, Qabil added. The third and fourth factories are for plastic products with investments worth 50 million pounds, set to provide 130 direct jobs.

For the fifth project, it is a new production line for manufacturing desert coolers, with a 90 percent local component, the Egyptian minister stated.