By Dai Kairan, Huang Peizhao, Ren Haoyu, People’s Daily
China and Egypt have long been close partners, bound by shared goals and mutual trust. In recent years, their high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries has produced tangible results, improving Egypt’s infrastructure, boosting local industry, and fostering talent development.
Central Business District (CBD) in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital
Standing atop the 385.8-meter Iconic Tower, the tallest building in Africa, visitors can enjoy a sweeping view. Sunlight filters through the clouds, illuminating rows of buildings rising from the desert, while the outline of a modern city has already begun to take shape.
Located about 50 kilometers east of downtown Cairo, the CBD of Egypt’s new administrative capital is being built by the Egypt branch of China State Construction Engineering Corporation. As one of the core projects of Egypt’s new administrative capital and a key project under high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Egypt, the CBD project comprises 10 office buildings, five residential buildings, four large hotels, and the Iconic Tower.
Senior architecture coordinator Nourhan Amin joined the project team in 2022. Since then, she has witnessed buildings rise from blueprints to reality, a transformation she describes as a source of “great pride.” Egypt has limited experience in constructing super-tall buildings, so Chinese engineers brought advanced techniques to the site. Through a mentorship program, Amin was paired with Jia Fengling, the project’s chief engineer.
“We aim to pass on our expertise to local staff through this program,” Jia noted. Over time, many Egyptian technicians have progressed from learning alongside their Chinese colleagues to becoming independent, capable project managers.
10th of Ramadan Railway project
At Adly Mansour Station, passengers line up in an orderly fashion to buy tickets for the 10th of Ramadan Railway, Egypt’s first electrified inter-city rail line.
“This modern light rail has brought us real convenience,” said a passenger surnamed Ismail.
Built by the consortium of China Railway Group Limited (CREC) and AVIC International Holding Corporation, the railway is Egypt’s first electrified inter-city railway and a landmark project under Belt and Road cooperation between China and Egypt. Its first two phases began operation in 2022, spanning approximately 70 kilometers with 12 stations serving more than five million residents along the route.
One passenger, Ismail lives in El Shorouk City in eastern Cairo and works downtown. He used to commute by privately operated minibuses, a trip that often took over an hour, sometimes longer in heavy traffic.
“Now it takes me about 40 minutes to get to the office by light rail,” he said. He noted the trains run smoothly, the carriages are clean and well-maintained, and the fares are reasonable.
Guo Kaixiang, general manager of the Egypt branch of AVIC International Holding Corporation, said that since the railway began operation, it has run safely for about 1,500 days and made 280,000 train trips, carrying more than 22 million passengers.
Chinese enterprises have rolled out localized talent training tailored to project construction and operational requirements. To date, they have cultivated around 100 local operational specialists for dispatching, train attendant services and station management, plus some 500 maintenance technicians covering rolling stock, signaling, power supply and communication systems. These efforts have helped Egypt build its own workforce for the operation and maintenance of electrified light rail systems.
Haier Egypt Ecological Park
At a Haier home appliance store in Madinaty, eastern Cairo, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and televisions are neatly displayed. Many of the appliances are manufactured at Haier Egypt Ecological Park in 10th of Ramadan City.
Covering 200,000 square meters, the park is Haier’s first integrated industrial park investment in the Middle East and Africa. Phase I, whichproduces air conditioners, televisions and washing machines, has an annual capacity of about one million units and officially began operations in May 2024.
Construction of the refrigeration and freezer plant under phase II is under way and is expected to begin production in October this year. Once fully operational, the park’s annual capacity will exceed 1.5 million units.
“In just two years since Phase I began, Haier’s air conditioners have become the third-largest brand in Egypt by market share, while our washing machines and televisions rank among the top five,” said Hu Ganggang, general manager of the park. “This shows that our products have won recognition and acceptance from local consumers.”
In the first half of this year, Haier Egypt also achieved localized manufacturing of large commercial air-conditioning systems, becoming the first company in Egypt capable of doing so.
The current phased target for localization rate across the eco-park’s production lines is 60 percent, while the air-conditioning line has already reached 63 percent.
Ahmed Abdel-Rashid, head of the household air-conditioning business at the park, is particularly proud of the achievement.
“Localization means we can rely more on local suppliers, technicians and manufacturing capabilities and respond more quickly to demand in the Egyptian market,” he said.
Nasser Mandour, president of Suez Canal University in Egypt, said, “In recent years, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between Egypt and China has continued to deepen. It not only responds to the practical needs of Egypt’s economic and social development, but also focuses on strengthening the country’s capacity for independent development, injecting new impetus into Egypt’s modernization drive.”
China-Egypt practical cooperation: A record of achievements
