It looks like El Khatib’s visit to Germany to talk investment wasn’t a wasted trip: Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib was in Germany over the weekend for the first ever Egypt–North Rhine-Westphalia Economic Summit and meetings with senior figures from the country’s private and public sectors. Companies from the EU’s biggest economy — and the world’s fourth largest — signalled their interest in building:

#1- A EUR 1 bn direct reduced iron factory, courtesy of German Metal manufacturer SMSGroup, according to a statement from the Investment Ministry. The factory is expected to have a capacity of 2.5 mn tons per year, which could be expanded to 4 mn tons. The project will create 1k jobs.

An SMS delegation is set to arrive in Egypt for further negotiations soon, with the company still looking for a company to partner with for the project and wanting to explore establishing the factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

#2- A EUR 30 mn flame-resistant material factory, which would be built by German advanced textile material producer Belchem, according to a separate statement from the ministry. The factory will be built on a 100k sqm plot and cover all stages of production, from creating fiber glass and then turning it into flame-resistant fibres for use in the automotive, aviation, and cookware appliance industries, among others.

What’s next? Egypt will receive a Belchem delegation to work on trying to make the proposal a reality.

#3– A EUR 5 mn first phase of a bicycle parts factory, spearheaded by German bicycle manufacturer Cube that would manufacture carbon-reinforced bicycle parts for export to European factories assembling bicycles. The project is expected to have a production capacity of 300k parts per year, generating EUR 10 mn in exports annually.

The wheels are already in motion for the project, with the bicycle manufacturer set to visit Egypt for a second time to secure a 40k sqm plot in Tenth of Ramadan City for the project.

This could just be the first of Cube’s Egypt investments, with the company also to study the proposal of opening up a factory to produce complete bicycles “completely” manufactured in Egypt, according to the statement.

#4- German auto parts manufacturer Mutares Group is looking to establish a factory in Egypt, according to a statement by the Investment Ministry. The 10k sqm factory would export 90% of its production, according to the statement, which provided no details on the potential cost or timeline for the project

What’s next? A delegation from Mutares is set to arrive in Egypt in the coming period to determine suitable partnerships for the project and to discuss establishing the project in an area under the SCZone.

PLUS- It was agreed that the German-Egyptian Joint Economic Committee will next take place on 18-19 February in Cairo in a meeting between El Khatib and Germany’s economy minister and vice chancellor, Robert Habeck.

AND- German airline Eurowings announced the launch of direct flights between Düsseldorf and Cairo, according to another statement from the ministry.

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