CHINESE and Egyptian officials on Wednesday laid a foundation stone for a joint venture project to make oil drills, which is the first land oil rig plant in the Middle East region.
Jointly laying the foundation stone with Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Amin Sameh Samir Fahmi told Xinhua that the project in the Suez northwestern industrial zone, about 120 kilometers east of Cairo, is a successful story, expecting more Chinese investments in the oil sectors of Egypt as the bilateral cooperation is practical and mutually beneficial.
Fahmi also expressed Egypt's keenness to learn China's technology and development experience to promote Egypt's social and economic progress.
For his part, Wu praised the progress the joint venture has made, reviewing that the memorandum of understanding was signed last October, the contract signed last December and the venture could start to produce drills only half a year later.
The Chinese party to the joint venture is Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co Ltd while the Egyptian side comprises three parties, which included an oil and oil processing firm, an oil consultation company and a petroleum company.
According to the contract, the two sides invested US$15 million each and the joint venture will manufacture three oil drills within three years and 53 from 2008 to 2011.
Earlier statistics from China's customs showed that the trade volume between the two countries reached US$3.19 billion in 2006, up 48.8 percent year on year.