With a total investment of One Billion Egyptian Pounds

(ATM Misr) opens a factory to assemble transport buses

in cooperation with “King Long” at the new city of Suez

Words by – Ashraf KARA

The Arab Company for Trade, Manufacturing and Transport Services (ATM Misr) opened a factory to assemble transport buses in the (Ataqa expansion) area in the new city of Suez, with technical cooperation with the Chinese company King Long, which has more than 35 years of experience in the field of bus manufacturing in China. This opening comes in light of the consolidation of Egyptian-Saudi-Chinese relations, and within the framework of the company’s strategy, which is based on supporting and localizing the bus industry in Egypt, in line with the efforts made by the Egyptian state to transform Egypt into a distinguished industrial destination that attracts investors from around the world.

The ceremony witnessed the signing of three cooperation protocols, where the first protocol was signed between the Arab Company for Trade, Manufacturing and Transport Services (ATM Misr) and the Chinese company King Long to complete the technical partnership between the two companies, while the second protocol was signed between King Long Company and the Saudi National Trade Company (NTC) to conclude a strategic partnership to complete the representation of King Long in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which exceeds 30% in the Kingdom. Finally, the third protocol came between (ATM Misr) and (NTC) to supply 51 buses to NTC, which in turn will supply them to Madinah Company for the transport of “pilgrims and Umrah” performers.

Mr. Liu Zhijun – General Manager of King Long said: “I am delighted that King Long is taking a step towards local investment and production in Egypt. Since its inception in 1988, King Long has been dedicated to becoming a supplier of the world’s best intelligent transportation solutions. In 35 years of development, King Long has achieved sales of 600,000 units. Looking back at the past three years impacted by the pandemic, King Long has been able to enhance its competitiveness through several technological innovations. The company also continued to develop several innovative categories that included autonomous driving technology, new energy-powered commercial buses, hydrogen fuel cell systems and special vehicles.”

Liu Zhijun added: “further to our cooperation with our other Egyptian partner (Al Amal for Car Manufacturing / King Long Egypt) in assembling King Long Microbuses, we start today a new era by manufacturing the coach segments in 12 and 8-10 meters long to provide the positive demand – especially in KSA and Gulf Area – at the first stage, and we believe the we will go further by the nearest future in presenting clean energy’s buses and to start exporting from Egypt to other markets with latest King Long technologies”

Dr. Hamed Al-Mutabekaty- Chairman of (ATM Misr), said: “I am delighted to be here today in Egypt, and I am even more proud that it is the destination chosen to host this huge investment project. We are all witness to the tireless efforts of the Egyptian leaders to stimulate the investment environment and attract new investments, which enhances investors’ confidence in the Egyptian market due to its multiple components, including a qualified and trained workforce, and advanced infrastructure that makes it the ideal destination for investment. The Arab Company spares no effort to support the state’s efforts and contribute to investments that will support the Egyptian economy, as evidenced by joint steps with major investors and manufacturers such as King Long, which has more than 35 years of experience in the field of bus manufacturing in China. We have been keen to inject a volume of investments to establish this factory amounting to one billion Egyptian pounds, provided that 60% of the local product exceeds the total productivity of the factory, as part of the company’s direction to support the localization of industry in Egypt.”

Mr. Amr AlKOUATLI – Managing Director of (ATM Misr), said: “Arab Company for Trade, Manufacturing and Transport Services is proud to conclude this strategic partnership with King Long, which will make a quantum leap in the field of manufacturing and assembling buses in Egypt. This partnership comes as a reflection of the Arab Company’s strategy in investing and presence in many markets, especially the Egyptian market, and the company deals with up to 120 suppliers of equipment and feeding industries. Both local and international, this project has also contributed to the creation of more than 12,000 direct and indirect jobs.

He added that the company has paid great attention to equipping the factory, which is located on an area of 164,000 square meters and includes the latest production lines, warehouses and tools, a bus painting building, testing and quality control areas, in addition to an administrative building, and a facilities and support building, in order to ensure the construction of a huge industrial edifice that contributes to giving a real addition to the Egyptian market. During the first phase of the modular production, 51 buses were contracted to the (National Trading Company- NTC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the supply will be in two phases, the first phase includes 26 buses, while the second phase includes 25 buses, and King Long was contracted to supply the components required to manufacture 26 buses in the first phase.

It is worth mentioning, that (ATM Misr) is a private company owned by Dr. Hamed Al-Mutabekaty & Sons with 97.5% ownership, while a group of Egyptian individual investors owns 2.5% of the shares. The company aims to operate in several markets including Saudi Arabia, the GCC, Egypt and North Africa.