The SCZone board of directors approved projects include a $300 million steel complex by China's Cheng Feng Iron Production.

The project, which will be built on 750,000 square metres, is expected to produce 600,000 tons of steel coils annually and create 1,200 jobs.

Another $40 million project by Chinese clothes manufacturer Shanghai Shengda was also approved.

This project will be built in twp phases in West Qantara Industrial Area on 80,000 square metres.

It is expected to produce 43 million pieces annually and create 1,200 jobs.

Additionally, the board approved a $610 million project to build a steel factory in the East Ismailia Industrial Zone on 400,000 square metres.

The factory, which will be built in three phases, is expected to produce 1.8 million tons of steel products annually.

Furthermore, the board approved the construction of a €750 million tyre manufacturing project on 400,000 square metres in Sokhna Industrial Zone, with a production capacity of 2.4 million units annually.

Moreover, the board approved a $ 110 million project by Indian Flex-Egypt to construct a raw materials storage depot along with the Orascom for Industrial parks.

Investments in industrial zones

The SCZone board of directors has approved 46 projects with $ 3.6 billion worth of investments between July 2022 and May 2023 in its industrial zones, said Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairman of the SCZone.

The value of investments in ports affiliated with the SCZone reached $1.3 billion in this same time period, Gamal El-Din added.

He revealed that the board of directors has been considering four projects in East Port Said and Sokhna ports.

Gamal El-Din added that 43 other projects in the industrial zones, with $4.6 billion worth of investments, have also received in-principle approvals.

Green Hydrogen & water desalination

The SCZone's board of directors is studying eight projects for green hydrogen industries and following up on nine projects under the framework agreement signed during the Climate Change Summit (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022.

The board of directors has also approved an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Ministry of International Cooperation for constructing a water desalination plant.

In May, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) prequalified 17 consortiums to offer bids to establish water desalination projects, which run on renewable energy, in different locations as part of the first phase of Egypt's water desalination programme.