By Ahmed Amer and Shaimaa Badawy
Kader Factory for Development Industries, affiliated with the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), intends to construct about 250 vehicles for the young graduates of the armed forces before the end of 2015.
The step is part of a presidential plan to manufacture a vehicle fleet to transport food commodities to combat unemployment and the increase in food commodities’ prices.
Chairman of the factory, Abdel Sadek Abdel Reheem, said his factory contracted with the armed forces several weeks ago to provide about 250 vehicles to the young graduates, and that the factory is in the first manufacturing steps now, and intends to deliver all of the needed numbers before the end of this year.
Abdel Reheem explained that his factory is keen on distributing its products on a broader range through holding exhibitions in all governorates, adding that the factory is currently preparing for an exhibition to be held in Sharqeya next week.
As for the three-wheel vehicles, Abdel Reheem said that they manufactured about 50 vehicles only to date, adding that demand is low.
He noted that his factory intends to deliver the first 40 developed train carriages to the Egyptian Railways by the beginning of next November.
He explained that Egyptian Railways contracted with Kader last August to develop and modernise 300 train carriages with investments estimated at about EGP 362m, including supplying the internal components of the different types of train carriages, like the air conditioned and the advanced types.
He explained that the rate of local manufacturing inside Kader ranges between 60% and 80% for heavy products, armoured vehicles, and air conditioned train carriages, while the rate is 100% for light vehicles, such as small trucks, and cleaning vehicles.
An official source said the presidency issued directives to the Ministry of Military Production to supply 2,000 vehicles in the next few months, for a project that aims at overcoming the unemployment crisis and the high prices of food commodities.
The source revealed that the vehicles’ prices range between EGP 70,000 and EGP 90,000. Vehicles that will transport bread and vegetables that do not need cooling areas will be sold for EGP 70,000, while the price of refrigerated vehicles to transport meat and food commodities that require cooling will be sold at EGP 90,000. That is in addition to medium load trucks for EGP 80,000.
The source explained that the vehicles will be offered through instalments, adding that the government conducted a study on the market. The study showed that some of the owners of these vehicles offer them to the youth with a rent of EGP 300 per day, which pushed the government to offer the vehicle through instalments worth less than the renting value.
The source also said the project was launched last year, after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi took office, as the president mentioned the project during the period before elections. The Ministries of Military Production, and Industry were entrusted with the project.
An official source previously said the Ministry of Military Production will be responsible for manufacturing these vehicles, and has entrusted AOI to prepare 50 models for the vehicle as an experimental phase, until their specifications are set.
The source added that the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality placed standard specifications for the three-wheel vehicle with the Transportation Division of Federation of Egyptian Industries, Industrial Development Authority, and the Traffic Department.
The sources said the attendees of the meeting agreed on issuing these specifications and licensing them. However, the Traffic Department said the present Traffic Law will prevent licensing the vehicle, because it will consider it similar to the tricycle and the tuk-tuk.
The source explained that the Traffic Department decided to describe this vehicle as “light three-wheel vehicle”, through amending the law on licensing vehicles, highlighting the difference between “light three-wheel vehicle” and “light three-wheel vehicle” was determined. The latter includes tri-cycles and tuk-tuks.
