Egypt’s Minister of Military Production and Industry revealed an ambitious plan to expand the industrial zone in Ain Sokhna city by adding 15,000 new feddans, bringing the total area to 35,000 feddans and making it one of the largest industrial zones in the Middle East and North Africa region. The zone enjoys a unique strategic location on the Red Sea coast less than 40 kilometres from the Suez Canal, making it an ideal export gateway to Asian and European markets alike.
The minister announced an exceptional incentives package comprising ten-year tax exemptions, customs facilities on imports of raw materials and production equipment, competitively priced serviced land, and the establishment of a unified business facilitation window that reduces licensing and approvals procedures to less than 30 days. The plan targets the attraction of no fewer than 80 multinational companies by 2030.
Officials noted that a number of major global companies had already expressed serious interest in establishing a presence in this expansion, including companies specialising in petrochemicals, food industries, metal processing, and container manufacturing. The strategy focuses on attracting high-value-added industries employing advanced production technologies, rather than labour-intensive industries that offer limited benefits to the national economy over the long term.
The expansion plans include the construction of a specialised industrial port directly connected to the new industrial zone, a dedicated power plant operating on a combination of natural gas and solar energy, and an integrated logistics area encompassing refrigerated warehouses and distribution centres meeting international standards. The project also involves the development of an integrated residential community for workers and managers, which would transform Ain Sokhna into a model integrated industrial city.
Egyptian officials are counting on this project to absorb a significant portion of the industrial investment flows directed toward the Middle East region amid the reshaping of global supply chains and the search for alternative manufacturing locations to Southeast Asia. If this project succeeds in attracting its targeted investors, Ain Sokhna will transform into a principal strategic tributary in the march of Egyptian industrialisation and export growth.