By: Mahmoud Gamal
Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Group CEO of Emirates Steel Arkan, Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, said his company is interested to invest in Egypt over the coming period, stressing that the Egyptian market is considered one of the group’s key markets in Africa.
In an interview with Mubasher, Al Remeithi revealed that the group aims to export new products to Egypt, including heavy sections and sheet piles.
The Abu Dhabi-based integrated steel manufacturer has a strong customer and distributor base in Egypt and is interested to supply rebar to nuclear projects that will be established in Egypt.
Last year, Egypt began the construction of El-Dabaa peaceful nuclear power plant (NPP) to generate electricity in line with its keenness to diversify the energy mix and achieve sustainability.
The total capacity of El-Dabaa NPP is about 4,800 megawatts (MW), and it includes four reactors with a capacity of 1,200 MW each.
According to Egypt's Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy (ISES), renewable energy capacity should contribute 42% of total power capacity by 2035. In the meantime, production capacity from thermal power stations should account for 55% and nuclear energy should contribute 3% to total electricity production.
The CEO further noted that the steel group supplied mega projects such as the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant (Barakah NPP), the first peaceful NPP in the Arab world, with 160,000 tonnes, equivalent to 60% of the Q-class and S-class rebar material used in the construction of the plant.
The group’s expansion plan is part of its strategy to diversify its sources of revenue through different marketing channels and enhance the competitiveness of local products in an effort to support the unified industrial brand identity; “Made In the Emirates”, which aims at encouraging manufacturing and supporting local products, Al Remeithi added.
In 2021, Emirates Steel’s exports accounted for 40% of its total sales volumes, with the balance sold inside the UAE, where the company maintained a market share of 60%.
The steel group is a state-of-the-art integrated steel plant that provides a wide range of products, services, and solutions that meet the needs of many sectors and industries, including the construction, energy, and transport segments.
Based in the industrial sector of Abu Dhabi, the group produces home-grown high-quality steel products that are shipped and used worldwide. The company’s steel has been also used in some of the UAE’s most iconic construction projects, including Burj Khalifa, Etihad Towers, and Yas Island.
In 2012, Emirates Steel obtained the Quality System Certificate (QSC) for nuclear products from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Over the first half (H1) of 2022, Emirates Steel Arkan turned profitable with AED 279.86 million in net earnings, against net losses of AED 23.24 million in H1-21.
The revenues amounted to AED 4.61 billion in the first six months (6M) of 2022, a hike from AED 418.08 million in the year-ago period.
During this year's second quarter (Q2), the company achieved a net profit of AED 207.27 million, versus a net loss worth AED 24.46 million in Q2-21.
Revenues for Q2-22 reached AED 2.57 billion, a jump from AED 194.54 million during the same period a year earlier.
Translated by: Amal A. Wahaab
