wiredInUSA April 2018

Fiber investment

China highway gets the go-ahead

Mohamed Nofal

A new fiber optic cable factory has been inaugurated in northeastern Cairo. The factory, managed by HitekNofal Hengtong Optix, is the first Egyptian-Chinese joint venture specializing in manufacturing fiber optic cables and accessories and aims to meet the Egyptian market’s 2018 demand for fiber optic cables. With an increase in manufacturing capacity, the project plans to be exporting to African markets by 2019, said HitekNofal marketing manager Randa Tawfiq. “[The] fiber optic cables market has obviously grown in the past few years in Egypt in light of the government and the private sector plans to improve the communication infrastructure,” said Mohamed Nofal, CEO of HitekNofal Solutions, adding that international research has estimated that the volume of the fiber optic market will grow up to $9 billion dollars by 2023, offering huge opportunities for foreign investors in Egypt. The factory, which can currently produce 8,000km of fiber optic cables annually, is set to double its production by the end of 2018.

Construction of China’s first ultra-high voltage power “superhighway” for the transmission of clean energy will begin in the latter half of 2018. The 800kW direct current transmission line will cover 1,600km across five provinces, from the Qinghai Plateau in the northwest to densely populated Henan in Central China, according to the state grid, Qinghai branch. Qinghai’s solar power capacity reached 9.53 million kilowatts at the end of 2017, accounting for 37.5 percent of its total power capacity. Shu Yinbiao, chair of the state grid, said the power line will use Qinghai’s clean energy resources for industrial upgrades and will raise the amount of clean electricity used in Henan.

wiredInUSA - April 2018

28