In a meeting with with with Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), Mr. Mohamed Khodair, GE Oil & Gas has announced the expansion of its services facility in Egypt with  the addition of  2,000sqm in the industrial free zone to reach a total of 5000sqm, according to the company’s website.

The expanded facility will provide assembly, disassembly, repair, maintenance and testing services for GE Oil & Gas’ upstream products locally in Egypt in order to cover both domestic and global demand of oil and gas companies, reported Trade Arabia. The facility is expected to start operations by mid-2017, and  will include a training center for GE customers and employees with the aim of helping build better operation and service know-how  needed for the products that will be covered at the facility.

Khodair stated: “by creating the right investment environment, GE is now able to expand its operations and investment in the free zone which will support Egypt industrially and economically.”

In relevant news, GE combined its petroleum-related operations with Baker Hughes Inc. to create a $32b oil business. The new company will be one of the industry’s largest players, bringing together a portfolio of capabilities spanning oilfield services, equipment manufacturing, and technology. GE will own 62.5% of the merged entity, which will be publicly traded. The deal is expected to close mid 2017, Bloomberg reported.