Suez Canal Authority, witnessed the successful completion of the process of lowering the floating hotel “Qasr Ibrim” into Lake Nasser behind the High Dam, after the completion of all the necessary maintenance and repair work that was carried out on dry land using the latest engineering technologies.
The landing ceremony was attended by Major General Maher Hashem, Secretary General of Aswan Governorate, Colonel Naval Staff Officer Mohamed Adam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nile Valley River Navigation Authority, a number of leaders of the governorate and the river transport sector in the governorate, Dr. Eng. Abdel Hakim Zakaria, Director of the Companies Department at the Authority, Eng. Yasser Shaarawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port Said Company, and Eng. Yasser Nour El-Din, Managing Director and Executive Director of the Company.
This operation is the second of its kind in record time after the successful maintenance and re-launch of the floating hotel "Eugenie", confirming the company's ability to provide integrated technical services that meet global standards in the heart of southern Egypt.
The work included maintenance of the hull of the floating hotel “Qasr Abrim” and the replacement of damaged iron totaling 20 tons of iron, maintenance of the sea valves, adjustment of the straightness of the machines, maintenance of the propellers, bringing in the propeller columns and rudders, as well as painting the entire hull of the ship, and maintenance of the electrical circuits, all in a record period of only 4 months.
In a speech delivered by Dr. Eng. Abdel Hakim Zakaria, Director of the Companies Department at the Suez Canal Authority, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Authority, affirmed that the Authority has made great strides towards developing its affiliated companies and raising their production efficiency within an ambitious strategy to diversify sources of income and enhance the developmental and service role of the Authority in implementation of the directives of the political leadership.
He also explained that the technical support provided by the Port Said company to this floating hotel in the area behind the High Dam is a strategic step that embodies the growing role of the Suez Canal Authority in supporting the river tourism sector, and opens new horizons for localizing maritime and river industries and transforming into a leading regional center in Africa, especially after the development and expansion of the site overlooking Lake Nasser.
He added that the Suez Canal Authority has an ambitious plan to expand its services geographically through its branches, company headquarters, and shipyards in Safaga, El Alamein, Aswan, and the Nile Shipyard in Luxor. This is part of the integrated efforts of all Egyptian state institutions to drive comprehensive development.
For his part, in his recorded speech, Engineer Amr Lashin, Governor of Aswan, praised the fruitful cooperation with the Suez Canal Authority as a fundamental pillar for supporting development efforts in Upper Egypt, stressing that the expansions of the Port Said Company, affiliated with the Authority, behind the High Dam, give added value to the governorate and complement its investment vision, as the total number of floating hotels in Aswan reaches more than 150 floating hotels, including 8 units operating behind the dam, which makes the presence of a specialized maintenance and repair center in this location an incentive to pump and attract more tourism investments.
The Governor of Aswan pointed to the distinguished location that the governorate enjoys as the southern gateway to Egypt and an extension of its African depth, which opens up broad horizons for exporting maintenance and repair services to neighboring countries and presents promising opportunities towards enhancing Nile tourism and the movement of goods with Sudan, in addition to the social dimension of what these investments present in terms of job opportunities for the people of the governorate and a foundation for a generation that possesses river industries skills, similar to the success achieved in the field of solar energy.
On the sidelines of the Port Said Company’s celebration, and within the framework of fruitful cooperation, Dr. Mohamed Rushdi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the High Dam and Aswan Reservoir Authority, stressed the qualitative addition represented by the Port Said Company’s expansions in Lake Nasser, given the prospects it provides for technical cooperation in repairing the units belonging to the High Dam Authority. In this regard, he pointed out the continuation of cooperation with the Port Said Company in the maintenance work of the research vessel “High Dam 2”, following the previous successful cooperation in the maintenance of the research vessel “High Dam 3”.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the High Dam and Aswan Reservoir Authority affirmed that the company’s role goes beyond the technical aspect to contribute to the sustainability of tourism activity in the lake by contributing to maintaining river units in good condition that complies with environmental requirements, expressing his appreciation for the role of the Suez Canal Authority in supporting industrial development efforts and serving the requirements of river tourism.
For his part, Colonel Naval Staff Officer Mohamed Adam Mohamed Abkar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nile Valley River Navigation Authority, expressed the Nile Valley Authority’s endeavor to achieve comprehensive technical and engineering integration with the Port Said Company, as the Nile Valley has an ambitious vision to raise the efficiency of 12 units operating behind the dam in transporting passengers, goods and livestock, expressing his hope to sign a cooperation protocol with the Suez Canal Authority and the Port Said Company to train workers in the field of maintenance and repair of river units.
He explained that the South Valley Authority, as an Egyptian-Sudanese international entity, receives numerous requests to manufacture the units in Egypt, which opens up a promising market for the company in the Nile Basin countries, through establishing strong partnerships with specialized entities. He emphasized that the Port Said company’s location behind the dam makes it the closest and most suitable entity to reduce time and cost in repair and construction operations for the units in Lake Nasser and Sudan.
For his part, Engineer Yasser Nour El-Din, the company’s Managing Director and CEO, explained that the successful launch of the floating hotel “Qasr Ibrim” reflects the company’s ability to adapt the Suez Canal Authority’s marine technology to serve the river tourism sector in the south.
He stressed that the company aims to transform its Aswan branch into the nucleus of a regional center that possesses all the technical capabilities to build and maintain river units according to international standards, supported in this by an ambitious vision from the Authority to maximize the capabilities of its subsidiaries and contribute effectively to national and development projects.
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