Leading Chinese firms offer hi-tech products, services at Cairo transport expo

The first and largest thing that catches the eyes of visitors right after passing the entrance gate of a large exhibition center in New Cairo is a real four-coach train standing in the yard on rail bars with sleepers and carrying a banner reading "CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd."

The train is a sample of the products displayed by Chinese giant train maker CRRC at the fourth Smart Transportation and Logistics Fair and Forum for the Middle East and Africa (TransMEA 2021), which was inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.

CRRC is not only displaying its products and services in a booth inside the grand four-day expo, but it is already in charge of a large project to produce 22 six-coach trains for Egypt connecting the capital Cairo, the new administrative capital east of Cairo and the 10th of Ramadan City of Sharqia province northeastern the country.

The deal includes a 12-year maintenance service for the 120-km/h trains offered by the producer.

Li Shaofang, general manager of CRRC Sifang Railway Vehicle Maintenance Company (Egypt) Ltd., described Cairo's Light Rail Transit (LRT) as one of the big joint projects between China and Egypt under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for common development.

"We're here to promote our products and services in Egypt. We will do our best to improve the Egyptian transportation system and we're looking forward to having more projects in the transportation field in Egypt," the Chinese manager told Xinhua.

Talking about the LRT, Li pointed out that "the project is going smoothly and successfully."

"At present, the manufacture of all the 22 trains has finished. We have already brought six trains of them here in Cairo and the others are waiting to be transported to Egypt," Li added.

The Chinese companies participating in the TransMEA 2021 also include AVIC International Holding Corporation (AVIC INTL), part of the consortium carrying out Egypt's LRT project along with CRRC Sifang.

AVIC's booth at the expo has a box-like 3D monitor with a touch screen that explains the LRT management system and stations after completion.

TransMEA 2021 is held this year side by side with the 25th Technology Fair and Forum for the Middle East and Africa (Cairo ICT 2021), Egypt's largest annual international exhibition for information and communication technology.

China's tech giant Huawei is a technology partner and sponsor in the two simultaneous events, which both gather hundreds of corporations from different countries across the world and are separately held in the spacious five halls of Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo.

With a large LED sign reading "Dive into Digital," Huawei's vast booth inside TransMEA 2021 features a number of products related to smart transport, displayed in various sections, such as smart rail, smart aviation, smart airport, smart passenger station, intelligent office, railway perimeter security and others.

"During the past three years, we totally viewed that the transportation in Egypt's market is booming, so we thought we could offer something for the digitalization of Egypt's transportation sector and also ICT," said Zhao Xiaohua, a senior sales official at Huawei Egypt.

He referred to Cairo ICT and TransMEA 2021 as "a very good chance to know each other and to understand each other's requirements," noting that the relevant Egyptian is market fast-developing "with lots of opportunities."

"Both China and Egypt are developing countries with huge populations and similar challenges. So, when we have some successful IT solution in China, I do believe it could be a good reference for Egypt with some customization to fit the Egyptian culture," Zhao told Xinhua outside Huawei's booth.

At one of the corners inside TransMEA, Egypt's Geyushi Motors displays locally assembled natural gas-fueled buses made by China's bus maker Yutong, while the booth is decorated with hanging banners carrying the names of both partners.

"We have been cooperating with Yutong for about five or six years. The buses are becoming popular in Egypt due to the country's tendency towards the use of clean energy. Most of our customers are public transport companies," Geyushi's marketing manager Tamer Effat, told Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS.