The Suez Canal Economic Zone has witnessed a new phase in localizing the automotive industry in Egypt with the signing of a contract to establish a factory by the Chinese “Sailun Group”. The factory aims to manufacture various types of tires with a total production capacity expected to exceed 10 million tires annually to meet local market needs and export abroad. The new project is being established with investments of up to one billion dollars over three phases within three years at the industrial developer “Teda Egypt” inside the integrated Sokhna area affiliated with the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority, covering an area of 350,000 square meters. The total production capacity of the first phase of the planned factory is 3 million passenger car tires and 600,000 truck and bus tires, with completion expected in 2026.

This project coincides with a promotional tour conducted by the Suez Canal Economic Zone to China weeks ago, aiming to create integrated industrial clusters to localize the automotive industry and related value chains, implementing the national strategy for localizing the automotive industry launched by the Egyptian government from the heart of the integrated East Port Said area. The recent promotional tour included field visits and meetings with officials from major automotive manufacturers, especially electric vehicles and their batteries, as well as a roundtable with six companies representing major Chinese auto parts and accessories manufacturers. These meetings aimed to localize the automotive industry, learn about modern automotive technologies, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the investment needs for similar projects including energy, utilities, space, and labor size.

The Chinese group executing the project is one of the largest industrial entities in the automotive tire sector, owning factories in China and Vietnam with a total production capacity exceeding 26.6 million TBR tires, 88 million PCR tires, and 310,000 tons of OTR tires annually. It also has a sales and logistics service base covering more than 180 countries and regions worldwide. The planned factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone will serve as a central regional manufacturing base to meet the needs of the local market and neighboring markets.