Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Wednesday witnessed the signing of a land usufruct contract for a $220m (EGP 11bn) industrial complex to produce solar cells, panels, and energy storage systems in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE). The "Atom Solar Egypt" project is a partnership between Egyptian, Emirati, Bahraini, and Chinese investors. The integrated industrial complex will be built on a 200,000-square-metre area in the Sokhna industrial zone. The facility will have a production capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar cells, 2 GW of solar panels, and a 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) energy storage systems factory, Madbouly's office said in a statement. The contract was signed by representatives of the developer TEDA-Egypt, Global South Utilities (GSU) of the UAE, AH Industrial Management of Egypt, and Atom Solar Egypt's founder, Ahmed Abou Hashima. The project is slated to be implemented over three years, with a total investment of $220 million, and is expected to create 841 direct jobs. The entire output of the solar cell factory will be allocated for export to global markets, while the solar panel factory's production will be directed to the local Egyptian market and regional markets in the Middle East and Africa. The project also aims to gradually increase the local content of its products by relying on Egyptian inputs such as aluminium and glass. The investment partnership involves several key parties: China's JA Solar as the technical investor, AH Industrial Management representing the Egyptian side, Global South Utilities from the UAE, and Infinity Capital from Bahrain. "The SCZONE represents an integrated platform for global investment and a regional hub for the green economy," Prime Minister Madbouly said, noting the political leadership's support for attracting quality investments, especially in advanced industries and renewable energy projects. Walid Gamal El-Din, chairman of the SCZONE, said the new project represents a "qualitative leap" towards localising the solar energy industry in Egypt and embodies the success of the zone's strategy to attract quality investments and build international partnerships that support the green economy. JA Solar, founded in May 2005, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-efficiency solar energy products, with business in more than 165 countries.
