MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Egyptian government has proposed that Russian automobile manufacturer AvtoVAZ launch joint projects with local state holding Nasr, Egyptian Industry Minister Munir Fakhri Abdel Nour said Tuesday during his visit to Moscow.
According to the minister, Cairo is seeking to begin full automobile production, not just "organizations of industrial assembly of cars," newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti reported Tuesday. The return of AvtoVAZ to the Egyptian market also gives Nasr a chance for its revival. Egypt has already allocated a platform for the Russian company near the Suez Canal.
Nasr is a state-owned automobile company founded in 1960 that has been producing licensed versions of Fiat vehicles. The company has recently been in decline and even went through a period when it was shut down to minimize losses.
AvtoVAZ cars have been produced in Egypt before. In 2006 the Lada-Egypt manufacturing plant was established in Cairo uptown, producing the Lada 2110, 2105 and 2107.
Two years ago Egypt sought to launch joint manufacturing operations with Russian companies, but these plans were shelved due to the political crisis in Egypt, according to Kommersant. Lada's production in the country was also suspended.
Truck manufacturer KAMAZ also plans to start negotiations with Egypt, Kommersant reported. In 2007 the company already intended to open an assembly plant in Egypt, but it did not go further than export deliveries. KAMAZ claims that it plans to enter into partnership with Egypt only in the long run.
