Another Chinese manufacturing project headed to the SCZone: Chinese steel maker Wu’an Xin Feng will set up a USD 297 mn hot-rolled steel coils plant in the Sokhna Industrial Zone after the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) allocated the steel maker a 750k sqm land plot to house the plant under an usufruct agreement yesterday, according to a statement from the SCZone.

The details: The factory will earmark 70% of its output to exports and will create 1.2k jobs. The plant will start producing vehicle engine blocks at a later stage.

A successful roadshow: The project stems from an SCZone delegation’s visit to China in May, where CEO Walid Gamal El Din and his accompanying delegation met with a number of Chinese business leaders and investors in an effort to drum up Egypt-bound investments.

It’s been a good month for Chinese investments: Last week, Egypt inked 14 agreements with Chinese companies to set up projects alongside our local private sector, including a USD 800 mn fiberglass and polyester plant and a power generation center.

Chinese investment in perspective: Chinese companies made up 40% out of the total investment pledges into the SCZone during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

Even more to come? The General Authority for Freezones and Investments (GAFI) Head Hossam Heiba yesterday sat down with a delegation from the Chinese government to discuss ways to bring in more Chinese investments into the planned freezone in the New Alamein City, according to a GAFI statement. Heiba assured the Chinese officials that the authority is currently building more freezones and working to drum up investments so that the zones are operational upon completion.

What to watch for: The Chinese side expressed its interest in investing in EV manufacturing, construction materials, and petrochemicals.

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