Exports of Egyptian building materials sector leapt in May 2016 as they reached 4.238 billion Egyptian pounds (US$480.2 million), marking 86 percent increase compared to the same period of 2015. Head of Export Council for Building Materials, Refractory and Metallurgy Industries Walid Gamal Eldin added that this leap approved that the sector is eligible for the additional aids programme for exports that trade minister Tarek Qabil recently approved. The council is set to submit a new memo for the minister to renew their request to join the programme. The export council is set to coordinate with the Egyptian Service Office to organise promotional campaigns to Ethiopia, Congo, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, during fiscal year 2016-17, the chairman said. Gamal Eldin clarified that the council plans to participate in missions of 'Egypt- Lebanon to Africa' initiative that will start next July. On other side, local market is witnessing a growth in public construction field due to the large projects implemented by the Engineering Authority of Armed Forces depending on Egyptian contracting firms. Those projects encompass new road and bridges network, thousands of housing units, and power plants. Moreover, Chairman Gamal Eldin noted that those large projects positively affected building materials sector through enhancing its production and sales volume in the local market.
