Egypt Daily News – Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly responded to a question during the press conference attended by Engineer Hassan El-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, regarding how the state benefits from partnerships with private sector institutions in the management and operation of companies being developed, especially textile companies.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the state was at one point accused of liquidating its affiliated companies. He stressed the importance of taking a comprehensive view of the matter, studying the conditions of each company and how to address the challenges they face.
He explained that, with regard to the iron and steel industry, there were dozens of companies whether state-owned or private sector, producing the same products using modern and advanced factories that meet market needs and export the surplus.
The Prime Minister referred to the outdated and deteriorating condition of the iron and steel factory and the difficulties in its development. In contrast, however, the textile sector has added value, with textile companies contributing across the production cycle, from cotton ginning and spinning to dyeing, weaving, and producing the final product.
There are stages in this manufacturing cycle that no private sector institution currently undertakes. Due to decades of deterioration in these companies, Egypt now faces a major problem in the textile industry, after once being a leader in this field. Therefore, a strategic decision was made to work on developing this important sector.
He noted that the volume of investment upon completion of the development work would reach 60 billion Egyptian pounds, in addition to bringing the company’s factories to the highest levels of modernization and advancement.
Madbouly said: “What remains most important is the management and operation of these assets after their development,” emphasizing that experience has shown the private sector to be more efficient in management and operation.
There is nothing wrong with the state preparing management and operation contracts for such factories and facilities, in order to preserve these assets after development and achieve the highest possible return for the state.
This ensures the sustainability of these assets and protects them from future deterioration. This is the goal behind spending such large sums, to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the sector, while continuing to implement training and qualification programs for workers in various factories and applying the latest management and operation methods to prevent any recurrence of previous decline.
