A British trade delegation will visit Egypt to study possible cooperation opportunities in the Suez Caal Project, the British embassy said in an official statement on 21 January. The delegation is comprised of Tim Flair, the director of the trade office in London; Rod Griffin, expert in project management of Britain's giant projects and representatives from the United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) department at the British embassy. The visit is set to last for a week, during which the delegation will head to the Suez Canal Authority in Ismailia and the Ministry of Transportation in Alexandria. The delegation will also visit a number of British companies who are qualified to participate in the project. On 7 January, the Egyptian government announced that 14 – of which 4 are British – out of 25 applicant joint ventures have qualified for the right to participate in the Suez Canal Development Project. The winner will receive the final contract in October, and will have nine months to submit an initial plan for the project. "British companies would like to offer all necessary expertise and assistance to make this project a successful one," Flair said. The UKTI published a statement on its official website saying that the "Egyptian government has announced international economic exploitation for mineral separation, processing and industrial manufacturing of black sands in KFG [El Burullus] including [elminite, zircon, rutile, magnetite, garnet, and monazite]". "A comprehensive feasibility study, undertaken by international specialist firm [Mineral Technologies Australia] has proved that this project is highly economical attractive according to international mining classifications," UKTI added in the statement.
