DAQAHILYA, Egypt, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese company producing fish feed was inaugurated Friday in northern Egyptian city of Gamasa, in a bid to support the Arab country's aquatic feed industry.
New Hope Egypt Aquatic Technology Co. Ltd. (NHEAT) is the fourth project for New Hope Liuhe Co. Ltd. in Egypt, said Luo Guoqiang, general manager of NHEAT, at the opening ceremony.
With an investment estimated at 180 million Egyptian pounds (about 11 million U.S. dollars), the aquatic company has built a factory covering an area of 13,000 square meters, Luo said.
The factory, which employs 100 Egyptian workers, has two lines that produce 100,000 tons of fish fodder per year, he said, noting that the pilot operation of the factory started in April.
The products and the technical assistance provided by the factory have been hailed by its Egyptian clients, according to Luo.
Liu Lei, executive chairman for overseas business of the New Hope Liuhe Co., said opening the NHEAT company in Egypt will be "a day to remember."
New Hope Liuhe Co., the China-based mother company that has 20 branches in the world and operates 650 companies, started its investment in Egypt in 2011, and has achieved big progress in promoting the development of Egyptian agriculture by applying new technologies and ideas.
Liu added that in light of the friendly cooperation between Egypt and China under the Belt and Road Initiative, "we succeeded in establishing projects in Egypt with a total investment of 100 million dollars and the annual production of 250,000 tons of animal feed."
Meanwhile, Wu Ping, head of the manufacturing sector of the Chinese Egyptian Trade Chamber in Egypt, considered the opening of NHEAT as "a very important step in the road of developing the Chinese companies in Egypt," noting NHEAT is the first Chinese institution that entered the field of the fish feed production in Egypt.
He noted that the factories run by New Hope Liuhe Co. are operated in different Egyptian provinces with annual sales valued over 2 billion Egyptian pounds, providing more than 600 permanent job opportunities and over 3,000 indirect jobs for local people.
Ahmad Mahmoud, chairman of the executive authority of Gamasa Industrial Zone, described the factory as "a unique and very special project."
Mahmoud told Xinhua that the Egyptian fish farming industry requires more such factories.
Salem Metwalli, one of the new factory's clients, said that what makes the NHEAT company special is that it does not only sell products but also follow up in details the whole process of raising fishes.
"Technical aid matters a lot here," Metwalli said, adding that the employees from the factory regularly pay visits to the fisheries to check the whole fish farming process.
Metwalli has signed a deal to buy 1,500 tons of products from the newly-opened factory since April.
