Egypt has invited Cypriot business to bid for large construction projects in its territory, as both Cypriot Minister of Communications and Works Marios Demetriades and Egyptian Minister of Transport Hany Dahy said on Thursday.
The two men headed a meeting of delegations from the two countries in the context of Dahy`s visit in Nicosia and discussed ways of cooperation, including the possibility of a ferry connection, cooperation on cruises, the employment of Egyptian personnel in ships under Cypriot management and the use of Cyprus as a link between Egypt and the EU.
Replying to a question on air connectivity between the two countries, Demetriades said that Dahy is not the minister responsible for such matters, but that Cyprus` request to amend the bilateral agreement with Egypt has been accepted and that there have been interested parties to undertake flights from Cyprus to Egypt. Right now Egypt Air is the only carrier which has flights from Egypt to Cyprus.
In his statements to the press the Egyptian minister spoke of the historic relationship between the two nations and added that his visits coincides with a period when conditions in Egypt both politically and vis-à-vis security are “very stable”.
Referring to the projects which Cypriots have been invited to bid for he said that in Egypt we have a lot of projects under construction. We have discussed the current transportation projects and presented them to our friends in Cyprus, he said.
At the same time Dahy said they discussed a way of cooperation, how the two countries can cooperate and make use of their geographic location especially as regards the ports, the coastal connection between them.
He spoke of the possibilities of employment of Egyptian maritime graduates and of establishing a branch of the Arab Academy of Science Technology and Maritime Education in Cyprus.
“This visit is very important I would like to express my appreciation for the presentation on the privatisation of the sea ports, he said, adding that he has “invited our friends from Cyprus to pay a visit to our sea ports in Egypt, to have a look for the current situation and the current projects under construction specially for the Suez Canal project, which will double the channel of the Suez Canal”.
In his statements Demetriades said “the relationship between the two countries is very strong and is getting stronger by the day”. This visit, he added, “is very useful”.
Referring to the discussions the two delegations had he said they discussed matters “like the current transportation projects in Egypt and I have to thank him for taking the initiative to present these projects to construction companies in Cyprus, giving the opportunity to companies from our country to go and do projects in Egypt”.
“We also discussed about developing the coastal connection between Cyprus and Egypt and also rejuvenating the cruise industry”, he said. As you know, he added, this used to be a very big business some years ago but because of the instability in the region it diminished in recent years.
“We believe that we can rejuvenate that industry again and we agreed that we will take common initiatives to do this”, he pointed out.
Demetriades also said they discussed “the possibility of employment of Egyptian maritime graduates and staff on the ships of Cyprus”.
“As you probably know Egypt has the Arab Academy of Science Technology and Maritime Education, it is a very well respected academy and we discussed how to get more people from the academy to be employed in Cyprus”, he said, in view of the fact that Cyprus is a major shipping and ship management centre.
At the same time the two men discussed the possibility of establishing a branch of the Academy in Cyprus, he noted.
Another item on the two ministers` agenda according to Demetriades was “the possibility of doing together some EU projects and getting funding from the EU”.
“We believe that Cyprus can act as the link between Egypt and the European Union”, he said.
Replying to a question as to the cost of projects Cypriot businesses can bid for Demetriades said that Cypriot businesses have been invited to bid for huge projects such as the Suez Canal or motorways for 3,200 kms.
The projects are of the order of about 6 billion euro, he noted, adding that if Cypriot businesses are successful for even a small part of these projects it would be a very important development.
He called on the Cypriot private sector to take advantage of this opportunity. There already is a Cypriot company which takes part in the construction of roads in Egypt, he said, expressing the hope that others will follow.
Asked how advanced talks are for a coastal connection between the two countries as well as for the cooperation in the area of cruises, Demetriades said that on the coastal connection, a private company in Cyprus has prepared a study which will now be sent to Egypt. The goal, he said, is to find ways to create a connection which will be sustainable.
On the cruises, he recalled that it used be a thriving business which had subsided in recent years due to the instability in the region. However, he pointed out, there are very positive indications for cruises which will stop in Cyprus, Egypt and will go as far as the Dead Sea.