Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met on Monday with Mohamed Salah El-Din, Minister of State for Military Production, to review the ministry's activities. The Prime Minister emphasised the government's commitment to the industrial sector, highlighting the crucial role of the Ministry of Military Production in supporting local manufacturing and achieving sustainable development goals. He commended the ministry's contribution to localising various industries and boosting domestic manufacturing across various sectors. During the meeting, Salah El-Din presented an overview of the activities of the production companies under the National Organization for Military Production, highlighting the significant progress achieved in recent times, leading to increased revenue. He also discussed the implementation of measures aimed at improving governance and streamlining expenditures. The minister explained the establishment of a centralised procurement entity for military production, aimed at streamlining procedures and registering various companies working with the ministry according to their specialisation and required raw materials. This includes creating a supplier database, facilitating the procurement of similar items across companies, establishing standardised specifications based on international standards, and conducting market research to obtain the best prices through competitive bidding. This initiative aims to address global challenges and ensure the continuous production of strategic items throughout the year. Minister Salah El-Din presented an array of products manufactured by the ministry across various sectors. He highlighted the design and production of an Egyptian electric bus for public transportation, marking a significant step towards promoting a green economy. This project, undertaken in collaboration with MCV, has already seen the production and delivery of 110 electric buses for Cairo and Alexandria. The ministry has also signed a contract to supply 100 electric BRT buses to the Arab Union for Land Transport and Tourism (SuperJet). He further emphasised the efforts to convert buses to operate on natural gas instead of diesel, particularly for public transportation, in collaboration with various gas companies. He pointed to the contract signed to convert 2,262 public transport buses in Cairo and Alexandria to operate on natural gas over six years, starting on November 15, 2021, at a rate of 377 buses per year. Salah El-Din discussed the production line for a vehicle designed to replace tuk-tuks, a key initiative to localise the manufacturing of light vehicles. This collaboration with "Etamko," the agent for the Indian company "Bajaj," saw the recent signing of a contract for the initial phase of assembling 2,800 vehicles per year (250 vehicles per month). The second phase of the project will involve joint production with an estimated output of 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles per year (2,500 vehicles per month), achieving a 45% local manufacturing rate. The minister presented the production line for eco-friendly cardboard packaging, which utilises banana waste to create environmentally friendly products. He also highlighted the development of a device for extracting water from the air in collaboration with the Japanese company "Meizuha," and a locally designed and manufactured 100% domestic essential oil extraction device, capable of extracting 100 kilograms of essential oils from plants. Salah El-Din highlighted the ministry's contribution to various national projects, including the "Decent Life" Presidential Initiative. This includes participating in the construction and implementation of numerous development and service projects in targeted villages, as well as contributing to the national project for milk collection centres, delivering approximately 120 centres to the Ministry of Agriculture, the private sector, and projects within the "Decent Life" initiative. The minister concluded by outlining the ministry's role in implementing a solid waste management system. He explained that the design and approval for a "Future 1" solid waste recycling line has been finalised, and its production is underway at military production companies. The initial phase of converting solid municipal waste into organic fertiliser has been completed, with the initial delivery of three new factories, alongside the enhancement of six production lines and four sorting stations in South Sinai.
