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Egypt has taken a serious step toward transforming into a regional gold production and processing hub in the coming years with the launch of the City of Gold project in the New Administrative Capital.
The announcement was made by Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea at the opening of Egypt's first exhibition for gold and jewellery NEBU 2022 in Cairo on Friday.
In her address, Gamea pointed out that the 150-acre City of Gold project aligns with the government's plan to maximise local value addition instead of merely exporting raw gold.
"This prompted Egypt to launch the City of Gold in the NAC. There will be a technical institute integrated with the 'Egypt Gold School of Applied Technology' in Obour," she said.
Gold City 1
Gamea said the global jewellery market is expected to increase to $307 billion by 2026 from $228 billion at present, which will require a concerted effort by the government and the private sector to increase Egypt's share of the market.
The minister also pointed out that Egypt produces more than 15.8 million tonnes of gold from its Sukari Gold Mine, which is expected to increase with the completion of the Golden Triangle project in the Eastern Desert. Under the project, 38 plots of land spread over an area of 12,000 square kilometres would be offered to the international companies.
She also underlined that Egypt's first gold refinery is being built at an investment of $100 million to process locally mined gold ore and ore from other mining centres in the Middle East and Africa.
The minister said the refinery would help position Egypt as a regional alternative to countries like Switzerland and Canada for processing gold ore.
The City of Gold
Elhami Al-Kurdi, Adviser to the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, announced at the event that the detailed design for the City of Gold is complete, adding that the Armed forced Engineering Authority will build and complete the project in two years.
"Construction of the 60-acre first phase will start soon, and details for the second phase will be announced soon," Al-Kurdi said.
Phase 1 would include an industrial zone, a commercial zone, an educational zone, and a residential zone.
The project's architect is local firm Okoplan.
Ihab Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer for Egypt at L'azurde, one of the world's leading jewellery manufacturers based in Saudi Arabia, welcomed the establishment of the City of Gold by the Egyptian government.
"We wholeheartedly support the Egyptian government initiative to localise and develop the gold industry in the country," Ibrahim told Zawya Projects.
He said L'azurde, which operates three manufacturing units in Egypt, will invest more in the country in the coming months.
"We will invest millions in importing new machines and the latest technology to our factories in Egypt," he said.
Ibrahim Al-Arabi, Head of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), the organiser of NEBU 2022, told Zawya Projects that the Egyptian government, over the past two years, has taken a number of steps with active private sector involvement to establish a strong base for the production of raw gold and bullion in Egypt.
"These steps will not only improve gold production in Egyptian mines but also enable import and processing of gold ore from the Middle East and Africa region in the country with local value addition to transforming Egypt into a regional gold production hub."
Hany Milad, Head of Gold Division in FEDCOC, said that the NEBU exhibition would promote the development of Egypt's gold industry, including the jewellery sector, and highlight the industry's contribution to the country's economic development.
According to official data, gold was one of the country’s key exports during 2021 amounting to $1.108 billion.
(Reporting by Marwa Abo Almajd; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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