The Marine Industries and Services Organization (MIASO) organizes the 6th Local Manufacturing Deepening Exhibition at Alexandria Shipyard, in line with the political leadership’s directives to localize industries and reduce reliance on imports. This initiative was in collaboration with the Federation of Egyptian Industries, the Armed Forces Armament Authority, and the Technical Research and Development Department.

The event was sponsored by Admiral Ashraf Ibrahim Atwa, Cheif of of the Egyptian Navy and Chairman of the Marine Industries and Services Organization, and attended by several distinguished figures including:

– Rear Admiral. Ihab Mohamed Salah, Director General of the Marine Industries and Services Organization
– Major General. Mohamed Adly Abdel Wahed, Chairman of the Armed Forces Armament Authority
– Major General. Dr. Mohamed Ali Metwally, Director of the Technical Research and Development Department
– Eng. Mohamed Zaki Sadiq El Sewedy, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries
– Rear Admiral. Ibrahim El Desouki, Chairman of the Shipbuilding Division
– Eng. Mohamed El Mohandes, Chairman of the Chamber of Engineering Industries
– Eng. Nasser Ragab, Chief Executive Officer of Bureau Veritas “BV” Marine Operations in Egypt

The event also witnessed the presence of a large delegation from the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the Chamber of Engineering Industries, along with representatives from over 40 national industrial companies.

The opening ceremony was initiated with a speech by Admiral. Ashraf Ibrahim Atwa, emphasizing the importance of such exhibitions in linking manufacturers with consumers, particularly in the strategic shipbuilding industry, which traditionally relies on imported marine materials. He also highlighted the role of local manufacturing in enhancing the global ranking of the Egyptian Navy and reiterated the Egyptian government’s support and confidence in the ability of local industries to compete internationally.

Following this, Rear Admiral. Hossam El-Din Ezzat Kotb, Chairman of Alexandria Shipyard, welcomed the distinguished guests and highlighted the shipyard’s historic role in deepening local manufacturing. Since the 1970s, Alexandria Shipyard has been a cornerstone in building most of the Egyptian commercial fleet. After its acquisition by the Egyptian Armed Forces, the shipyard underwent significant development to enable it to build and manufacture naval ships, with the company being officially upgraded reopened in 2015 by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Under President El-Sisi’s directives, the shipyard embarked on building naval ships, successfully delivering three Gowind corvettes to the Egyptian Navy in collaboration with the French side, and is currently constructing one MEKO-class frigate for the Egyptian Navy in cooperation with the German side. This aligns with the strategic vision to localize this industry in Egypt, reducing import costs in foreign currency and striving towards self-sufficiency by providing competitive local products on the global market. The exhibition aims to strengthen the shared vision of increasing the local component percentage and deepening local manufacturing for the supply industries that support the vital shipbuilding sector.

Eng. Nasser Ragab, followed with a speech on the role of Bureau Veritas in approving and certifying various materials used in shipbuilding to comply with global marine specifications and requirements. He also mentioned that the headquarters in France fully supports establishing a local office for approving local materials, similar to other nations.

Eng. Mohamed Zaki Sadiq El Sewedy, emphasized the federation’s support for this initiative and highlighted the importance of achieving high quality and offering competitive prices while adhering to the required technical specifications.

The event concluded with a tour of the exhibition grounds, where the attendees inspected samples of various products and materials used by Alexandria Shipyard in shipbuilding, including steel plates, cables, pipes, insulation materials, fiberglass, greases and oils, chemicals, safety and occupational health equipment, outfittings, wires, mooring ropes, and all accompanying accessories of different sizes and types.

As part of the Exhibition activities, Rear Admiral. Hossam El-Din Ezzat Kotb, accompanied Eng. Mohamed Zaki Sadiq El Sewedy, on a tour onboard the latest Egyptian warship, the MEKO A-200 frigate, currently being built with 100% Egyptian hands. El Sewedy praised this remarkable achievement and the industrial leap achieved by Alexandria Shipyard in localizing the manufacture of naval military units.

It is worth noting that the Egyptian MEKO A-200 frigate was launched under the directive of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during the inauguration of the (EDEX 2023) International Defence Exhibition and Conference. The frigate is scheduled to be delivered to the Egyptian Navy by the end of 2025.