China's Zhejiang Kinlead Innovative Materials Co., Ltd will invest $60 million to build a flexible packaging materials factory in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), the zone's authority said on Monday. The project, to be established in the West Qantara Industrial Zone over two phases, will span 171,000 square metres and focus entirely on export production. The facility is expected to create around 600 direct jobs. The plant will manufacture biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, metalised BOPP rolls, stretch films, self-adhesive cello tape, and paper tubes. Annual capacity will exceed 100 million tons and 165,000 units, all of which will be exported. "Despite its evolution into a specialised and fully integrated textile zone, Qantara West has still succeeded in attracting quality investments across diverse industrial areas," said Walid Gamal El-Din, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone. "This project reflects growing investor confidence in the SCZone's infrastructure, incentives and strategic location," The deal brings the total number of projects in Qantara West to 18, with cumulative investments of $564.5 million and nearly 25,300 jobs created, according to SCZone. Gamal El-Din noted that Qantara West's location between ports on the Mediterranean and Red Sea supports easy access to global markets and contributes to boosting Egypt's trade balance and foreign currency reserves. Founded in 2002, Kinlead is one of the world's largest manufacturers of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film products. It has manufacturing bases in China and exports to over 80 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
