Egypt approves $300 mln Italian tyre manufacturing plant in free zone

The project received the green light during a session of the Ministerial Group for Industrial Development held on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Transport.

The facility will produce tyres for heavy transport vehicles, engineering equipment, and agricultural tractors, with plans to expand into passenger car tyres to serve domestic demand and boost exports. The specific location of the free zone has not been announced yet.

The investment is the latest in a series of tyre manufacturing ventures in Egypt's industrial zones, part of national efforts to localize the automotive industry and expand private sector manufacturing.

In September, China's Sailun Group began construction on a $1 billion facility in the TEDA Egypt industrial development area. The project is being built over three years in three phases on a 350,000-square-metre site.

In November, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly opened the Al-Mansour Vehicle and Industrial Filters Manufacturing Plant in 10th of Ramadan City. The EGP 500 million ($11 million) facility is also aimed at localizing the automotive industry.

The ministerial group also agreed to form a committee to review a request by TCI Sanmar, a unit of India’s Sanmar Group, to raise customs duties on imported raw vinyl chloride polymers (PVC) to protect the local industry.

The committee, which includes representatives from the finance and investment ministries, will assess the firm’s production capacity to ensure it can meet domestic demand before any tax changes are implemented.