Entitled “Egypt’s Promising Opportunities for Construction and Building Industry Export Regionally”, the 8th edition of the Builders of Egypt Conference hosted by Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity took off yesterday.
The opening ceremony of Builders of Egypt witnessed the presence of Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker; Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Assem el Gazzar; Minister of Immigration, Ambassador Soha Gendi; and Deputy Minister for African Affairs, Mohamed Al-Badri.
Egyptian Solidarity Minister, Dr. Nevine El-Kabbaj, delivered some remarks during the conference.
She highlighted that Builders of Egypt unleash the available investment opportunities, either in African or Arab countries, referring to the abundance of human and natural resources in these regions.
“Africa is home to 40% of the world’s gold, up to 90% of its chromium and platinum, and the largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum, and uranium in the world. It also has 8% of its natural gas reserves and 12% of its oil reserves. It also has 65% of the World’s arable land” Nevine stated.
She also stated that the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, urged the necessity of handling the challenges facing the security and stability in Africa, to maximize the continental investment opportunities in a way that firmly establishes Africa’s position. She also stressed the necessity of financial inclusion and supporting promising economic activities.
Kabbaj also referred to Africa’s construction sector’s promising potential and the Egyptian companies’ competitive edge. Hence, the African Development Bank scaled up these companies’ access to finance, given their operational efficiency.
She also lauded the success of establishing 40,000 residential units and smart cities. She also stated that 58% of the Egyptian citizens received benefits offered under the Haya Karima initiative at a budget exceeding EGP 1 trillion.
The Minister also referred to the necessity of exporting successful expertise to Arab and African countries, especially to the labor-intensive construction sector. She also emphasized the necessity of protecting labor rights and ensuring occupational health and safety, especially for seasonal workers.
She also referred to a new e- registration platform set for seasonal workers, offering them social insurance
El-Kabbaj also stated that women’s economic empowerment is instrumental for comprehensive growth and sustainable development, as women in Africa represent about 66% of the workforce, contributing to 50% of food production. However, their share of the income ratio doesn’t exceed 10%, and their ownership ratio represents only 1%. Hence, the main focus of any sustainable development strategy should be women empowerment, as a pillar of development.
She also highlighted the necessity of integrating the efforts of the African countries toward achieving the agenda of 2063.
The Minister also urged the necessity of the ongoing expansion in the cooperative housing sector, highlighting that The General Authority for Construction & Housing Cooperatives successfully established 3300 cooperative compounds, offering a total of 1.4 million residential units for 6 million citizens.
Moreover, she urged the necessity of protecting labor rights, women’s economic empowerment, and promoting housing cooperative projects.
Since 2014, Builders of Egypt Forum has been the largest event of mega importance for key construction, building materials, and contracting players in Egypt and Africa, driven by the government’s extended support to boost the investment ecosystem in construction and sustainable development.
