Yazaki CEO: The project will be established at an estimated cost of € 30 million and will provide more than 3,000 job opportunities
At the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, held, yesterday evening, a meeting with the delegation of the Japanese company “Yazaki Europe Limited" to follow up on the implementation process of the car braids manufacturing project in Fayoum. The construction work of the project has begun after the company obtained the golden license, as part of the efforts exerted to accelerate the pace of the project implementation. The project involves foreign direct investments valued at €30 million.
The meeting was attended by Ambassador Hiroshi Oka, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt; Dr. Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum; Mr. Munenori Yamada, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yazaki EMEA; Mr. Hans Lemmens, CEO of Yazaki EMEA; Mr. Yoshimo Ito, BoD member of the Japanese company “Yazaki"; Eng. Ahmed Badawy, Managing Director of Yazaki Egypt for Electrical Systems; Major General Yasser Abbas, Deputy CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones “GAFI"; and Mr. Yehia El-Wathiq Billah, head of the Commercial Representation Authority.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister welcomed the delegation of the Japanese company "Yazaki", pointing out that he was keen to meet the company's delegation hours after laying the foundation stone for the electric car braids factory at Kamal facility in Fayoum Governorate. He expressed his appreciation for the seriousness and commitment of the company in starting the implementation of the project. Moreover, the company's president was keen to be part of the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the project, which is considered evidence of his keenness to follow up on the project implementation.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly met with Mr. Hans Lemmens, CEO of “Yazaki Europe Limited" for the Middle East and Africa region, in April 2022, when he also witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the braids factory between GAFI and the Japanese company “Yazaki Europe Limited".
During the meeting, the Prime Minister affirmed the Egyptian government's support for this project in order to speed up its implementation as soon as possible, pointing out that he instructed over the past period to facilitate the procedures of land allocation for the project in Fayoum to be the first private free zone in the governorate.
Furthermore, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly stressed that the government attaches utmost importance to the role of the private sector in its development plans, explaining that Yazaki braids factory contributes to the localization of automotive component projects aligned with the national strategy for developing the automotive industry. It is worth noting that the Council of Ministers had issued a decree in December 2022 to grant the company a golden license.
In addition, Prime Minister's Decree No. 99 of 2022 was also issued on the establishment of a private free zone named "Yazaki Egypt Electric Company" on 70,000 square meters at Kamal facility in Fayoum. In July 2023, a land contract allocated for the establishment of Yazaki factory for manufacturing car braids was signed between Dr. Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum, and Eng. Ahmed Badawy, Managing Director of Yazaki Egypt for Electrical Systems.
"We are ready to provide any support required for the establishment of the new factory and for any future expansions.", PM re-assured the company delegation. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly praised the strategic relations between Egypt and Japan, expressing his aspiration to attract more Japanese investments to Egypt during the coming period.
For his part, the Japanese Ambassador to Egypt stressed the strength of relations between Cairo and Tokyo at all levels. He praised the great support provided by the Prime Minister to push for the prompt implementation of Yazaki project (a factory for automotive electric wire harness) in Fayoum Governorate. In addition, he thanked the Minister of Trade and Industry; the Governor of Fayoum Governorate; and GAFI CEO for their efforts in accelerating the procedures required to launch the project.
Moreover, the Governor of Fayoum Governorate said that since the inking of the memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the factory, meetings and conferences have been periodically held with the representatives of “Yazaki" Japan; the project consultant; and the representatives of utility companies, the General Authority for Roads and Bridges (GARB), and the Housing and Utilities Directorate to follow up on the provision of utilities in the Zone in order to promptly start the project.
The Governor added that even with the start of construction work, we are following up on a weekly basis the implementation of the remaining stages of utilities provision to the Zone.
The Governor expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the support he provided for the prompt implementation of infrastructure work in the Zone in which the project is located, and for his directives to provide the necessary allocations for the utilities provision. The Governor stressed that the factory contributes to the localization of the automotive industry, and it also comes within the framework of the Egyptian State's plan to develop Upper Egypt and provide thousands of job opportunities for the Egyptian youth.
During the meeting, Mr. Hans Lemmens said that he is proud of what has been achieved on the ground so far. He stressed that all goes as planned and within a short period of time. He extended his thanks to the Egyptian government for fulfilling its obligations and the great support Yazaki received to promptly start the project. He explained that Yazaki has already hired a local contractor and has begun construction work.
It is worth noting that Yazaki was founded in 1941, and it is one of the largest Japanese companies working in the field of automotive wire harness and electrical systems for hybrid and electric cars. He explained that the company is the main supplier of electric wire harness to the largest automotive manufacturers in the world, such as: Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Nissan, General Motors, and Volvo.
Mr. Lemmens pointed out that the company owns 140 factories in 45 countries around the world (29 factories in Europe and North Africa), and its total annual sales is 12.5 billion euros worth.
He confirmed that Yazaki will build an electric wire harness factory in Fayoum Governorate on a surface area of about 70,000 m2 in “Manshaet Kamal" in Fayoum Governorate at an estimated cost of 30 million euros. He pointed out that the project will provide more than 3,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
Furthermore, he added that the company will fully export its production abroad with an export value of 100 million euros worth annually.
For his part, Mr. Ahmed Badawy, the Managing Director of Yazaki Egypt Electrical Systems, said that the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the current year (2024), but the start of production from the first phase and the export are planned to begin during the next few months.
