Egypt's SCZONE lines up Chinese projects, incl 2-GW solar cell factory

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) on Sunday announced the signing of contracts for six Chinese projects, including the establishment of a 2-GW solar cell factory.

The signing took place in Beijing, on the sidelines of the Forum on the China Africa Cooperation, with the six projects representing investment of more than USD 1 billion (EUR 906m).

One of the agreements is a land usufruct contract between industrial developer TEDA Egypt and Elite Solar Company for setting up a manufacturing facility for N-type solar cells with a capacity of 2 GW. The factory will be located on 77,000 sq m within SCZONE and will require a total investment of USD 100 million. It is expected to create 600 jobs.

Singapore-headquartered Elite Solar separately said that it will establish an 8-GW solar manufacturing hub in Egypt, involving solar cell production and module assembly, with a significant portion of the production to be exported to key markets, including the US.

The 2-GW solar cell production line will be the first phase of the project and is slated for completion by September 2025.

Elite Solar chairman Derek Liu said the venture will position Egypt as a central hub for photovoltaic manufacturing in the Middle East and North Africa.

The other projects announced by SCZONE include a glass plant, part of whose production will be photovoltaic glass.

In addition, a chemicals project to produce chlor-alkali aims to use green energy. In its first phase, the project will rely on wind energy, solar energy, electricity and natural gas to produce steam as energy.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.906)

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