After years of setbacks and stoppages, the Egyptian government, led by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, has launched a project to revive major state-owned factories and companies, foremost among them the Helwan Iron and Steel Factory, one of the oldest and most important industrial strongholds in Egypt and the Middle East.

This step is part of a comprehensive plan to restructure the industrial sector, increase local production, reduce reliance on imports, create jobs, and stimulate the national economy.

The Ministry of Industry is currently studying the partial reopening of the Helwan Iron and Steel Factory, focusing on producing steel plates using Egyptian iron ore available in the Bahariya Oasis. This follows industrial concentration processes to improve ore quality, aiming to produce high-quality output that meets local and international market needs.

The future development plan includes utilizing unused factory spaces to establish new factories in other fields such as textiles and ready-made garments, contributing to new job opportunities for residents of Helwan, Tebbin, and 15 May areas, as well as supporting Egypt’s exports and strengthening the national economy.

In response to debates about the factory’s fate, the Ministry of Industry confirmed it is not the owner of the factory or its lands and halted demolition after presenting the matter to President El-Sisi, based on intensive field studies led by Engineer Kamel El-Wazir and the Minister of Public Business Sector in cooperation with the Chamber of Metal Industries.

Amara Ibrahim, the General Secretary of the factory workers’ union, emphasized that reopening the factory is a decisive step to restore the role of heavy national industry, stressing the importance of using Egyptian ore as a key factor in the project’s success.

He added on the ‘Ahl Masr’ program on Azhar Channel that partial operation through one or two pelletizing units and one furnace could be an effective start, noting that a single furnace can produce about 2 million tons annually when updated with the latest technology.

Ibrahim pointed out that previous renovations of the factory’s fourth furnace, built in 1974 and overhauled in 2013 and 2014, proved that the furnaces can still operate efficiently up to 70%. This confirms the factory’s potential strong return to production, especially with the government’s continuous development and technological investment plans.

Experts and industry workers emphasize that reopening the Helwan Iron and Steel Factory, alongside other strategic factories like Nasr Automotive and Delta Fertilizers, forms a vital foundation for rebuilding the national industry, reducing import bills, supporting the national economy, and achieving self-sufficiency in essential industries.