Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser El-Kady is set to inaugurate a fibre optics factory in Badr city on Tuesday. The plant is owned by HitekNofal Solutions and the Chinese Hengtong Group with investments up to $15m. An informed source at HitekNofal Solutions said that the plant will be established on three stages, the first of which would involve investments of $15m. The total investments spanning the three phases amount to $30m with a production capacity of 8,000 kilometres of cable per year. According to the source, statistic reports evaluate the global cable market at $9bn by 2025. The Egyptian government, through Telecom Egypt and the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, has put a plan to develop the telecommunication infrastructure through replacing copper cables with fibre optics ones. HitekNofal Solutions offers its products to many government agencies, including Telecom Egypt, as well as the three other private communications companies, along with oil companies, private universities, and residential cities, such as Madinaty. Founded in 1987, the company has since become a leading information technology and communication networks player on the local and regional levels. HitekNofal Solutions established its first plant in the Sixth of October city in 2000 and received the ISO 9001 in 1997. Telecom Egypt has spent some EGP 18bn to develop infrastructure and extend fibre optics across Egypt since 2012. The company has completed replacing 40% of traditional copper cables with fibre optics and is set to complete the project within three years.
