CAIRO, Jun 11 (NNN-MENA) – Cairo Construction Hub, a three-day forum on construction efforts in Arab countries, kicked off yesterday with a focus on rebuilding the war-torn Palestinian enclave, Gaza Strip.
Held in the Egyptian capital Cairo, the forum is a unique platform that features a series of events, specialised in the discussions of urban development, construction, engineering, architecture, and building materials producers.
The forum was attended by a number of Egyptian and foreign businessmen, construction experts and officials, including the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, Diab Al-Louh.
“Gaza is in urgent need of translating the reconstruction initiatives into actions on the ground,” the Palestinian ambassador, said.
He highly appreciated the Egyptian efforts to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, while welcoming Egyptian companies to participate in the reconstruction process, in the blockaded coastal enclave.
In May, Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, pledged 500 million U.S. dollars for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which suffered massive damages to its buildings and infrastructure, from the May 10-21 Israel’s aerial bombardments of the enclave.
Egypt brokered a ceasefire on May 20, to end the 11-day fighting between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas, which left at least 250 Palestinians dead and only 12 Israelis killed.
Al-Louh expressed hope that donor countries will contract with local Palestinian companies to revive the economy in Gaza and reduce unemployment rate there, which has reached 50 percent.
Ahmed Abou Hashima, CEO of Cairo-based Egyptian Steel, also a member of the Egyptian Parliament, said, Egyptian companies have already started to implement President Sisi’s initiative to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
“We are ready to provide the Gaza Strip with steel and cement,” Abou Hashima said, adding that, this will also help Egyptian companies open new horizons for business expansion outside Egypt.– NNN-MENA
