AHEAD of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Egypt this week, the government said in a statement on Tuesday that a number of agreements will be signed during the visit in the areas of power generation, transportation, agriculture and housing. The projects include work on an electric train line between Salam City and 10 Ramadan City and a cargo train line between Belbeis and Robeiky near Badr City on the Cairo Ismailia desert road, as well as the manufacture of 130 railway cars, all of which will cost $1.5 billion. Other projects include the development of piers in the port of Alexandria and various projects in electricity generation, including the Ataka Mountain power station that will generate electrical energy at a cost of S$2.3 billion. Two coal-fired power stations in the Hamrawein region of the Red Sea will also be constructed. There will be additional funding to develop the electricity grid. In the area of agriculture, the government will sign a memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian Research Centre and the Chinese Academy for Agricultural Mechanisation Sciences. The government said it is expected that Egypt will suggest to the Chinese side cooperation to reclaim between 100,000 and 250,000 feddans of land within the framework of the million-and-a-half feddans project earlier announced by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. In the area of housing, contracts for the implementation of the first phase of the new capital, which extends across 10,000 feddans, will be signed. These include building 13 ministry buildings, cabinet headquarters, a grand conference hall and the Expo City at a cost of $2.5 billion, in addition to 15,000 housing units, an amusement park and a sports city. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in two and a half years. Another project involves providing sanitary drainage to 260 villages in the governorates of Menoufia and Gharbia. In the area of higher education and scientific research, a memorandum of understanding has been prepared to provide 500 scholarships for Masters and PhD students over the coming five years. It is also expected that during the visit an agreement will be signed for a grant to finance a number of development and infrastructure projects. In the same framework, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has organised trade promotions by over 11 Chinese companies to seek out import opportunities in Egypt. Twelve contracts worth $62.6 million have already been signed between Egyptian and Chinese companies, covering imports of olive oil, fruit, medical instruments, metal products, chemicals, marble blocks and textiles. The aim of the trade mission is to help develop trade relations in a more balanced way, as Egypt's imports from China far outweigh its exports. A China hi-tech exhibition was also held ahead of the president's visit. Fifteen Chinese companies took part in the exhibition, including China Railways, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China National Nuclear Corporation and Yingli Green Energy Holding Company.
