‘Builders of Egypt’ to confer mechanisms to achieve integration, sustainability among African countries

CAIRO - 12 June 2019: Under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the 5^th “Builders of Egypt” Forum themed “Building Exports as a New Future for Investment” focuses on investment opportunities in the construction sector in the African continent, and the necessary measures necessary to develop investments and achieve sustainable development.

The forum, which will kick off on June 16, will confer possible mechanisms to achieve integration among African states in the construction sector and to foster public-private partnership in Africa and the Middle East.

With the participation senior executives representing the construction, real estate development, banking, and energy industries, the forum is organized by the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors, having 30,000 member companies, and the Egyptian Export Council for Real Estate.

For the first time, 14 chairpersons of African and Arab construction federations will participate in the forum, in light of President Sisi’s chairmanship of the African Union.

The Egyptian administration attaches strategic importance to enhancing regional integration among African countries as one of the ways to implement the African Union's Development Agenda 2063, which represents continental aspirations.

The forum will be attended by more than 500 participants representing a wide range of business and finance domains and prominent speakers from regional and international organizations to discuss investment opportunities in the construction sector of Africa.

The forum will display available opportunities for Egyptian construction companies in Africa and the Arab World as well as the success stories of some Egyptian contractors in those markets. The forum will also discuss the possible support by banks to get such opportunities.

For his part, Eng. Hassan Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Egyptian Federation of Construction and Building Contractors, said that Egypt's leadership of the presidency of the African Union will open the door for facilitating the opportunities of its presence in the African continent markets, which are acquired by multinational companies that are of lower quality than Egyptian companies.

He pointed out that the forum this year reflects Egypt's interest in sustainable development and long-term stability in Africa and the creation of greater cooperation opportunities for the African continent with Egypt, pointing out that the state's interest in empowering the Egyptian contracting sector and increasing its ability to compete with foreign entities in various markets is a major gain and a good opportunity to increase business portfolios in the coming period.

He said that Egypt's leadership of the African Union is an important asset for moving the relations between Egypt and African countries to better levels and achieving good cooperation at the economic and political level.

He explained that Egyp has already begun to take serious steps to support the sector, especially in the file of working abroad, as this was reflected in the formation of a high committee headed by Dr. Mustafa Madbouli, the Prime Minister of Egypt, to evaluate Egyptian construction companies and companies producing building materials to qualify them to work abroad.

The Forum of Builders of Egypt is considered the largest event in the construction sector which includes all categories of construction companies and actors that influences the sector through their activities such as the financial and banking sectors and sectors related to its activities such as real estate investment, energy and building materials.