CAIRO: Egypt is poised to sign a deal that will see the production of electric vehicles in the country, Minister of the Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik has said.

Three companies are currently competing for the right to produce the cars, but the names of these firms were not disclosed by the minister. 

Tawfik stressed that the state-owned El Nasr Governmental Vehicles Company will produce only one model of electric car.

He also revealed 3,000 electricity charging stations will be created across three governorates, with a new company set to be established to manage these facilities in partnership with a sovereign company with a 90 percent share.

The Egyptian government has finished providing all incentives for electric cars, including preparation and special support for the buyer, in addition to subsidizing the price of electricity.

Last month, the Egyptian Ministry of Public Business Sector announced that negotiations with the Chinese Dongfeng company had stopped as a result of a failure to reach an agreement to reduce the price of the imported component sufficiently  enough to enable the Nasr Automotive Company to produce and launch the car at a competitive price.

The Ministry stated at the time that it would, in cooperation with the Metallurgical Industries Holding co and the Nasr Automobile Company, open new channels of communication with one of the specialised global consulting offices to identify an alternative partner, and it is expected that positive results will be reached before the end of November.

Egypt had signed the framework agreement with the Chinese company, Dongfeng, to produce the E70 car in January 2021, after a series of negotiations that took more time than expected due to the emergence of the coronavirus at the beginning of 2020.