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SCZONE, CNCEC sign $34m soda ash project in Ain Sokhna

Businessmen Team news 25 January 2026 09:23 PM
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SCZONE, CNCEC sign $34m soda ash project in Ain Sokhna

Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority (SCZONE), signed today at the Authority’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, the contract for a project by China National Chemical Engineering Corporation (CNCEC) on a 100,000-square-meter site in the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone, with investments totaling USD 34 million.

The project aims to produce facilities, production lines, equipment, and pipes used in establishing sodium carbonate (soda ash) plants. It will manufacture primary products including steel structures, prefabricated carbon steel and stainless steel pipes, and standard non-standard equipment. The designed production capacity is 20,000 tons per year for steel structures and 400,000 inch-diameter units per year for prefabricated pipes.

The contract was signed by Zhang Hongfeng, representing the Chairman of CNCEC Group and Head of CNCEC Branch 16 Egypt, in the presence of several senior executives from both sides.

The project signed today is the first of two integrated projects, with the first located in the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone and the second planned at Ain Sokhna Port in two phases. The second project is expected to involve investments of USD 250 million, covering a total area of 200,000 square meters with a quay 350–400 meters long, expandable. It will manufacture chemical and petrochemical equipment, including carbon steel, low-alloy steel, stainless steel, composite sheets, various types of towers, containers, jacketed containers, coil containers, and containers equipped with stirring motors, for use in petrochemicals, power generation, mining, and pharmaceutical industries. The two projects will be logistically integrated between the industrial zone and the port to facilitate the transport and handling of large-scale components and products used in soda ash, chemical, petrochemical, and oil refining projects. The second project is planned to be established at Ain Sokhna Port during 2026.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Gamal El-Din stated that the soda ash production project signed by SCZONE implements directives from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to localize this industry, which is considered a strategic project of great importance to Egypt. He highlighted its pivotal role in supporting self-sufficiency in local industries, reducing imports, and maximizing added value. Soda ash is used in numerous industries, including chemical, petrochemical, and oil refining sectors, as well as in prefabricated stainless steel operations and tire manufacturing. He emphasized that SCZONE provides full support and facilitation for the two projects, leveraging the integration between the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone and Ain Sokhna Port, as well as free trade and international agreements that allow access to regional and global markets. He added that the readiness of infrastructure and facilities at SCZONE’s ports and industrial zones has made them a central platform for attracting global investments in targeted sectors.