LS C&S to build power cable JV in Egypt

LS Cable & System (LS C&S) has announced a plan to set up a joint venture to install power cable in Egypt. This is the first manufacturing corporation to be established by the South Korean company in Africa. The South Korean wire and cable manufacturer intends to expand its business to the Middle Eastern and African markets with a base in Egypt.

LS C&S signed an agreement to establish a joint venture on Wednesday with MAN International Contracting, an Egyptian cable constructor. The joint venture will be named “LS MAN Cable” and plan to complete the construction of a plant in an industrial city near Cairo by the end of 2020 to begin manufacturing overhead wires for electricity transmission.

“The production lines to be built on the 15,000 square meter site will have the capacity to produce 2,500 kilometers of overhead wires per year,” said a source of LS C&S. “Overhead wires, which are installed on steel towers between a power plant and a substation, have lower construction costs than subterranean lines. That is why overhead wires are in rapidly increasing demand in the Middle East and Africa.”

In fact, Africa has been experiencing huge leaps in energy demand year on year due to the rapid economic development and population increase in the continent. As the region’s current electricity supply chain remains poor, many countries in Africa, including Egypt, are pursuing the construction of highly stable power networks as a national agenda. “Africa offers unlimited business opportunities in the power industry,” said a source of the cable industry.

“Globally, trade barriers are getting higher as countries reinforce the protective policies for domestic wire manufacturers,” said LS C&S President Myung Roe-hyun. “We are strengthening our competitiveness with the ‘greenfield’ strategy, which is investing directly in major hub countries.”


Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com