Egypt signs contract to establish $1bn tyre factory

Egypt has secured 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) worth of investment to establish a tyre factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the cabinet said in a statement.

A contract was signed with Rolling Plus for Chemical Industries, a joint venture between Egyptian, Saudi Arabia and Cypriot companies, to establish a factory producing seven million tyres per year.

The project will cover an area of 400,000 square metres and will be implemented in three phases, each with a different production line and target market.

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The first phase will cost 400-450 million euros and produce 2.5 million automobile tyres annually, 50 percent of which will be supplied to the local market, Daily News Egypt newspaper reported.

The second phase will include the production of 3.5 million light transport tyres per year, 40 percent dedicated to the local market.

The third phase will increase the production capacity to seven million by adding the heavy transport tire industry.

The new factory is part of the Suez Canal Economic Zone’s strategy to localise the automobile industry and supplement industries, such as batteries and tyres.