The First Builders Of Egypt Forum 2014 Hailed A Great Success

Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab inaugurated the first Builders of Egypt Forum 2014, which would lead up to Egypt’s Economic Summit, which is scheduled to take place next March in Sharm Al Shiekh. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Egyptian ministers of planning, supply, youth, manpower, and housing in addition to a number of Arab ambassadors and decision-makers in the country’s construction sector.

H.E. Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab affirmed that the forum is recognized as a significant core in clarifying the vision of the building and construction sector in the upcoming phase and shedding light on available investment opportunities. The prime minister welcomed the participation of Egyptians and foreign investments in Egypt’s national projects, and stressed that everyone will take part in building the new Egypt, which is aimed to be one of the best countries in the world” said Mahlab, Egypt’s prime minister.

Representatives from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates were the guest of honors at forum. Fahd Ben Mohamed Al Hammadi, Head of Arab Contractors Union, as well as Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa, Chairman of the UAE Contractors’ Association were honored amid a huge celebration in recognition of their outstanding leadership and contributions towards the construction sector in the presence of H.E. Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab. Commenting on the occasion, Eng. Hassan Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors (EFCBC) stated that Fahd Ben Mohamed Al Hammadi, Head of Arab Contractors Union, as well as Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa, Chairman of the UAE Contractors represent two main pioneers of the construction sector.  In his keynote speech, the chairman of the UAE Contractors’ Association, Ahmed Saif Belhasa, said that UAE and Saudi Arabia are foremost supporters of Egypt in its current reconstruction phase following two uprisings. “The whole region, notably the UAE have benefited from the Egyptian expertise in the last period in fields of education, construction and building,” Belhasa clarified.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab afterwards granted certificates of appreciation to around 27 youth working in the country’s construction and building sector, who have passed a former training program. The certificates testified the country’s commitment in linking between the training activities with the marketplace needs and community awareness about the importance of the technical work and enhancing the workers’ capabilities and efficiency.

Furthermore, the first day of  the  forum witnessed the inking of a protocol between the ministry of Youth and the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors (EFCBC). The protocol on cooperation was signed by Egyptian Minister of Youth, H.E. Khaled Abdel Aziz and Eng. Hassan Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors (EFCBC), in the presence of 3 ministers; Minister of Housing Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, Minister of Manpower Nahed Al-Ashry, and Minister of Transportion Eng. Hany Dahy. From his part, Eng. Hassan Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors (EFCBC), stated that the protocol is to enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian cadres in construction and building sector. It aims to receive unique job opportunities locally and internationally, assist the institutions and companies working in the contractors sector to get their needs from the well-trained local cadres, and train their workers in high levels of professionalism and efficiency so as to achieve the vocational objectives of their institutions. He pointed out that “TVET” is a partnership project between Egypt and the European Union aiming to enhance the abilities of national associations as well as the economic projects in Egypt.

The two-day forum is organized by the Egyptian Federation for Construction & Building Contractors (EFCBC) and “Excellent Communications” a specialized Public Relations and events management agency. The forum provided a platform where authorities and governmental officials are in direct contact with contractor companies and leaders in the industry in order to discuss challenges and provide solutions in order to execute projects already proposed to governmental bodies before their due dates.

On the occasion, Nahed El Ashri, the minister of Manpower said that the biggest challenges facing the ministry are the ability to provide job opportunities and labor market requirements needed by national projects. The ministry also established the National Center for vocational training for human resources development, headed by the Minister of Labour responsible for each governorate according to the Egyptian constitution, El Ashri added.

In his key note, Egyptian Planning Minister Ashraf Al-Araby asserted that building and construction sectors are the most important that will witness a great boom within the upcoming period as result of the announcement of several national projects, the investment rates of these sectors increased and the economic indexes revealed that the two sectors grow by 4.9% within the first quarter of this year from the previous year.

The Minister added in a keynote speech second session at ‘Builders of Egypt’ Conference Cairo on Tuesday that the ongoing government is keen on supporting the Construction companies to contribute in completing the expected projects and implementing new projects throughout paying around EGP2.5 billion during the last fiscal year as arrears for the companies.

It is expected that the economic growth rates will increase 3.5% to 3.8% as result of the high growth rates of the manufacturing operations and construction of the Suez Canal, which contribute in boosting rates of building and construction sectors, Al-Araby noted.

Moreover, the Minister asserted that the unemployment rates declined to 13.1% in the first quarter of 2014/2015 in compared to 13.3% during the last quarter of 2013/2014, noting that the country has a great challenge to overcome unemployment rates.

Yehia Zaki, CEO, Dar Al Handasa Egypt has expected that the project would contribute to the creation of a new community with total population of 5 million.

Suez corridor project is expected to create around one million job opportunities within 15 years of operation, said director of operations at Dar Al-Handasah that wraps up the project’s master plan, he added.

Mostafa Madbouly, the minister of housing and urban communities said that the contractors are the main builders of Egypt, where all Arab and regional construction companies are contributing to achieve real development in Egypt.

The ministry of housing is working to encourage all construction and building companies to contribute and participate in all major companies to be finished as soon as possible, Madbouly added.