By: AGBI

A Chinese company will reportedly invest $700 million to establish a solar panel glass manufacturing facility in Egypt.

Hong Kong-listed Xinyi Glass will develop the project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in two phases, the Egypt Today newspaper reported.

The facility is expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of solar panel glass and 1.1 million tonnes of high-purity silica sand annually, a key raw material for solar glass production.

The majority of the output will be exported, both regionally and globally, the newspaper said.

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has already directed government entities to provide the necessary infrastructure to expedite the plant’s development.

Xinyi Glass is in the process of securing regulatory approvals ahead of starting construction, the paper said.

Egypt is increasing efforts to localise manufacturing of solar power components. In October 2024, the government identified solar cells as one of 12 strategic products targeted for domestic production.

In August 2024 electricity and renewable energy minister Mahmoud Esmat said that Egypt is actively developing 7,150 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects.

The solar energy initiatives include partnerships with UAE’s Masdar, Egypt’s Abydos and Norway’s Scatec.

To incentivise investment, the government is offering land for project setups in exchange for a 2 percent share in annual electricity production.

Customs duties on components and spare parts for renewable energy systems have been reduced from 5 percent to 2 percent, while the value-added tax has been lowered from 14 percent to 5 percent.