Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, met today, Sunday, with Mr. Inbum Choi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Infra and Machinery Division, Hyundai Corporation, accompanied by a high-level delegation. The meeting was held at Irshad Building in Ismailia, and was attended by Admiral Ashraf Atwa, Deputy Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, and a number of the Authority Directors.
The delegation included Mr. Soohyun Hwang, Senior Overseas Projects Officer, Hyundai Corporation; Mr. Jason Park, CEO of the company in Egypt; and Mr. Ahmed Bilal, Planning Director of the company in Egypt.
The meeting comes in light of ongoing communication between the two sides to continue discussions on ways to form a partnership to develop and modernize the Authority-affiliated shipyards and companies, and to discuss bilateral coordination on several projects related to the use of clean energy.
At the outset of the meeting, Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Authority, emphasized that the global shipbuilding and repair market is facing significant challenges in light of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) recommendations to shift towards the use of environmentally friendly green fuels in the operation of vessels and maritime units. This presents promising opportunities for the construction and repair of environmentally friendly vessels and maritime units at the Authority-affiliated shipyards and companies, as the SCA strives to achieve more sustainable and efficient operations.
The Chairman of the Authority pointed out that the cooperation with Hyundai Corporation has resulted in an agreement on several joint projects, including a funding grant to build a hall and classrooms, in addition to implementing construction and civil works of a natural gas training station in one of the training halls at the Authority's Vocational Training Center in Port Said, to train students on work skills at liquefied natural gas stations.
The Chairman of the Authority added that the cooperation extends to include the discussion of the development of Port Said Shipyard and establishing an affiliated shipyard in El Gouna area, Port Fouad, to work in the fields of building environmentally friendly maritime units and ship scrapping activities using modern and sustainable scientific methods.
Admiral Ossama Rabiee indicated that the cooperation also includes the technical studies, designs, and feasibility studies necessary to develop Suez Shipyard Co., using the latest modern technologies in the fields of ship and maritime units maintenance and repair.
Adm. Rabiee stressed on the need to accelerate the pace of work to complete the technical studies and preliminary feasibility studies to begin the implementation procedures of the proposed projects.
On his part, Mr. Inbum Choi, Senior Vice President of Hyundai Corporation, expressed his aspiration to strengthen cooperation with the Suez Canal Authority and achieve mutual interests by starting implementation procedures of the projects.
The Senior Vice President of Hyundai Corporation indicated that the actual implementation of the funding grant for the Authority's Vocational Training Center in Port Said has begun. The necessary equipment is scheduled to be purchased and supplied in the coming period, with actual training scheduled to begin during the 2026 academic year.
Mr. Choi added that Hyundai Corporation has completed the preliminary studies and technical proposals necessary for the development of Suez Shipyard Company. This will be followed by a discussion by the joint working group, in preparation for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two sides to start the necessary studies and designs to begin implementation procedures within six months of the agreement.