China’s Zenith Group to invest USD 300 mn in SCZone tire-component plant

Chinese steel manufacturer Zenith Steel is investing USD 300 mn in a Sokhna plant that will make raw materials currently being imported for Egypt’s growing cluster of tire factories, according to a statement. The company — a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Zhongtian Group — will build on a 320k sqm plot inside the Chinese-operated Teda zone, producing 120k tonnes of steel cord a year and 50k tonnes of bead wire — the steel reinforcement used in vehicle tires. It plans to export around 30% of output to the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

The plant supports Egypt’s auto localization push. The government has been trying to move the sector beyond assembly by tying incentives to local content, with the revamped Automotive Industry Development Program (AIDP) setting local-content requirements at 20% and recent auto projects already building in feeder-industry facilities. Zenith is setting up next to the Chinese tire makers already inside Teda — like Sailun’s USD 1 bn plant, which broke ground last year — supplying the steel cord and bead wire those factories would otherwise import.

REMEMBER- The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) is also set to welcome a USD 291 mntire plant to support auto component localization, while Chaoyang Langma Tire is lining up a USD 190 mn facility for heavy-truck and passenger-car tires. Elsewhere, China’s Linglong has been mulling a USD 2 bn tire export hub in Borg El Arab, with plans to produce tires for cars and heavy vehicles alongside feeder products including rubber and carbon black.

Also from the SCZone

Kuwaiti logistics heavyweight Agility Logistics Park will invest USD 30-35 mn to build a 53k sqm regional distribution center in the SCZone, handling storage, consolidation, and re-export services, according to a statement. The project builds on Agility’s USD 25 mn Sokhna customs center that opened in February 2025 on a 21k sqm plot. It also cements Agility’s growing local footprint, which includes the Yanmu East Logistics Park developed in partnership with Hassan Allam Utilities in East Cairo.

Why it matters: The Ain Sokhna port is shifting to a fully automated export system designed to slash customs clearance times, integrate inspection authorities, and fast-track outbound shipments. It also fits the government’s wider attempt to use the SCZone as a trade-processing platform, including recent pitches to position the zone as a storage and re-export hub for regional commodity flows.