Steel flats project to come to Egypt

Egypt is to establish an integrated industrial complex to produce steel flats, in cooperation with a global company in that field, at a total investment of USD1 billion. The news was announced by Cabinet Spokesperson, Nader Saad, on 13 September following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The name of the global company, however, was not announced.

The Cabinet meeting was attended by Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala Elsaid, Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), Waleid Gamal El-Dein, in addition to high-ranking officials in the field of industrial steel production.

According to Mr Saad, the approval to establish the industrial complex has been obtained by SCZONE, noting that the project looks to enhance local manufacturing and exports. The project, he explained, will sit on an area of 1.5 million sq.m., with a total investment of USD1 billion which will be pumped in two stages. The project’s annual capacity is expected to stand at 1.8 million tons, with production expected to start 18 to 24 months after all approvals are granted.

The industrial complex, the Cabinet spokesperson said, should produce flat steel in dimensions that were never produced locally before, such as thick steel plates, hot-rolled steel coils, steel slabs, and laminated tin-coated steel coils. These products should serve a wide sector of industrial and economic activities, Mr Saad explained, including the manufacture of bridges and metal facilities, of express trains, the metro, and the monorail, electric cars, electrical transformers, ultra-corrosion-resistant steel products, the shipbuilding industry, the gas tanks industry, the renewable energy components industry, and the manufacture of household appliances.

The project should provide 2000 direct job opportunities, and 4500 indirect job opportunities.