INVESTMENT WATCH-

Chinese clothing firm to set up shop in West Qantara: Egypt’s Suez Canal Zone (SCZone) has inked a contract with Chinese textile and clothing manufacturer Jiangsu Guotai to set up a USD 10 mn factory to produce ready-to-wear goods for export in West Qantara, according to a statement released on Sunday. The project — which will span nearly 21k sqm — will earmark 100% of its production of ready-made garments for export. The factory looks to provide some 2k direct jobs.

Sounds familiar? Two Chinese textile firms inked agreements for two projects in the West Qantara Industrial Zone with a total investment figure of USD 28 mn earlier this month.

Things are heating up in West Qanatara: Sczone has inked contracts for 15 projects so far in the zone, with investments totaling USD 490 mn, the statement adds. The projects — spanning an area of over 1.3 mn sqm — will on average export some 80% of what they produce and have created around 20k jobs.

RAIL-

#1- Rowad Modern Engineering was awarded the contract to construct French rolling stock company Alstom’s EUR 80 mn railway manufacturing complex in Egypt, Managing Director of Alstom Egypt Ramy Salah Eldeen told Al Borsa on Sunday. Rowad already kicked off construction work of the Borg El Arab-based complext earlier this week and should wrap it up no longer than two years.

AVIATION-

#1- Syrian Aleppo Airport back in business: Syria’s Aleppo International Airport will resume its operations and receive domestic and international flights starting tomorrow, SANA reported on Saturday, citing the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority. The move comes after an almost three-month-long suspension of all flights due to the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime in December 2024 and a shutdown a month prior after Syrian opposition groups took over the airport, Middle East Monitor reports.

#2- Dnata renews its Zurich airport ground handling license: UAE-based air services provider Dnata has snapped up a seven-year extension on its ground handling service operations at Switzerland’s Zurich Airport (ZRH), according to a statement released on Thursday. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Looking forward: Dnata looks to bolster its cargo handling capacity at the airport by over 50%. The firm inked a leasing agreement with ZRH authorities to operate a new 9.5k sqm advance warehouse facility, which is under development and slated to open in 2027.

PORTS-

CMA CGM Iron lands at Khalifa Port: Abu Dhabi’s khalif Port received its first dual-fuel methanol container vessel — CMA CGM Iron – at shipping giant CMA CGM’s CMA Terminals, according to a statement released on Friday. The vessel — built by Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries — boasts a 13k TEU capacity and can be powered by both conventional and alternative fuels, including bio-methanol and e-methanol. The ship is one of 12 new dual-fuel methanol vessels to be integrated into CMA CGM’s fleet this year and 2026.

REMEMBER- AD Ports and CMA CGM inaugurated CMA Terminals in December 2024 under a JV which will see the AED 3.1 bn terminal managed by the pair — with CMA Terminals holding a 70% stake and AD Ports holding 30%. The facility will expand the port’s total container capacity by 23% to reach nearly 10 mn twenty-foot equivalent units.

TRADE-

#1- South Korea backs Egypt’s new digital import tracking system: The Korea International Cooperation Agency is backing the rollout of a digital oversight and tracking system for imported industrial and non-food consumer goods under a EGP 600 mn grant from the South Korean government, according to a statement published on Friday. Launched with the General Organization for Export and Import Control, the project seeks to tighten import oversight and crackdown on substandard goods, with the Korean side supplying equipment, software, and digital infrastructure for the rollout. The system is set to run from June 2025 through 2029.

#2- Export Bahrain partners up with Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce: Export Bahrain has inked an MoU with the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) to enhance bilateral trade relations and cooperation by helping Bahrain-based businesses access the Brazilian market, according to a statement released on Thursday.

Recent interest from the ABCC in the region: The ABCC sent seven Brazilian investors to conduct a feasibility study in October 2024 to explore establishing a logistics center for re-exporting goods in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, with plans to submit a proposal to the Suez Canal Authority once the study is wrapped. The zone would act as a hub to import corn, soybeans, sugar, and other products that would then be re-exported to other Arab and African nations.

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