Egypt will build the largest fibre optic cable plant in the Middle East and North Africa, with investments worth over 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($63.2 million), the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) announced on Wednesday. The 50,000 square metre plant in Al-Ain Sokhna is planned to start operation within the third quarter of 2021, SCZone chairman Yehia Zaki said the statement. The project is part of an initial agreement signed between the government-owned Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) and IT service provider Benya Capital. “The annual production capacity of the project is four million km of cables, while investments in the project amount to more than 1 billion pounds,” Zaki said. The deal is part of the government's efforts to boost the industrial sector, promote local technology, and reduce imports, AOI chairman Abdel-Moneim Al-Tarras said. The project will create jobs for young engineers and technicians, Al-Tarras added. Manufacturing fibre optic cables will meet the needs of telecoms, power, gas, and oil firms, as well as new cities Egypt is building, the statement added. Benya Capital has chosen U.S. firm Corning Inc, a leading provider of optical fibres, cables, and communication solutions, as a strategic supplier of the anticipated plant.
