China grants Egypt $71 million for satellite project, training centre at Suez Canal Economic Zone

Egypt and China agreed Monday on a $71 million Chinese grant to Cairo for a feasibility study for the Egyptian satellite SATII project, as well as the establishing of a vocational training centre at the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation stated on its website on Tuesday.

According to the statement, $64 million will be dedicated to the feasibility studies for the second phase of the Second Egyptian Satellite for Remote Sensing (Egypt SATII) and $7 million for the Suez Canal vocational centre.

The two grants are the latest China provided to Egypt over the last five years totaling $267 million, according to the ministry's media office.

"China is considered among the leading countries in the field of space technology and remote sensing," said Nasr, who stressed the importance of benefiting from the Chinese experience in this field.

In January 2016, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a number of cooperation deals worth around $15 billion, including China’s participation in the construction of Egypt’s new administrative capital as well as the development of an industrial and commercial hub around Egypt's Suez Canal. China is also involved in power generation projects in Egypt.

However, the Egyptian government said in early February that it could not reach a final deal with the China Construction Company, which was to be tasked with building parts of the administrative capital. Egyptian construction companies were given the contract instead

Source: Ahram online