China’s home appliance giant Haier held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for its first Egyptian factory, aiming to boost the manufacturing industry and provide local jobs in the North African country.

Haier Egypt Ecological Park, invested by Haier Group’s subsidiary Haier Smart Home with a total of 160 million U.S. dollars, will cover an area of 200,000 square meters in the 10th of Ramadan City of northeastern Sharqia Province.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hossam Heiba, the CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt, hailed the strong economic ties between Egypt and China, saying that the Egyptian government attaches great importance to the cooperation with China and is ready to attract more Chinese investment, especially in technology and engineering industries as well as home appliances, which will help the Egyptian economy to move up the value chain.

Haier Egypt Ecological Park is an important project as it will facilitate the transfer of home appliance manufacturing technology and create about 2,000 jobs in Egypt,