RIYADH: The Egyptian government plans to tender a project to establish a passenger car and light commercial vehicle tire factory with an estimated investment of about $500 million, with the aim of meeting local market needs and reducing reliance on imports, according to an official document seen by Asharq Bloomberg.
Egypt needs about 500,000 tires annually and imports nearly 8 million tires each year at an estimated cost of about $1.25 billion.
China’s Sailun is the only company in the country operating in the passenger car tire manufacturing sector and is expected to begin production in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in the coming period, according to the document.
The new factory is scheduled to be developed in the industrial zone of 10th Ramadan City on a 217-feddan site under a partnership with the private sector. The project falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State for Military Production.
Last July, Mohamed Zada, assistant minister of industry for strategic industries, said Egypt did not have a passenger car tire manufacturing industry, despite the presence of factories producing tires for buses and trucks.
