A Chinese firm is set to invest $700 million in establishing a solar panel glass manufacturing plant in Egypt.
Xinyi Glass, a Hong Kong-listed company, plans to develop the facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in two phases, according to reports from Egypt Today.
The plant is projected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of solar panel glass and 1.1 million tonnes of high-purity silica sand annually, a crucial raw material for solar glass production. A significant portion of the output will be exported to regional and global markets.
Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has instructed relevant authorities to facilitate infrastructure support to accelerate the project’s completion. Meanwhile, Xinyi Glass is in the process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals before commencing construction.
Egypt is actively expanding its solar power manufacturing sector. In October 2024, the government designated solar cells as one of 12 strategic products for local production. Additionally, in August 2024, Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat announced that the country is developing 7,150 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects.
Current solar energy initiatives involve partnerships with UAE’s Masdar, Egypt’s Abydos, and Norway’s Scatec. To attract investors, the government is offering land in exchange for a 2 percent share in annual electricity production. Furthermore, customs duties on renewable energy components and spare parts have been reduced from 5 percent to 2 percent, while the value-added tax has been lowered from 14 percent to 5 percent.
