Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), attended on Sunday the foundation stone laying ceremony for new production lines at the Turkish “Hayat Egypt” factory for hygiene products.
The expansion covers 30,000 square metres within the Orascom Industrial Parks development, located in the integrated Ain Sokhna zone under SCZONE’s jurisdiction. Backed by a total investment of $44m (around EGP 2.2bn), the new lines will focus on manufacturing nonwoven hygiene products. Once operational—expected by March 2026—the project will create over 400 direct job opportunities, with 75% of output earmarked for export markets.
The ceremony was attended by Tarek El-Shazly, Governor of Suez; Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkish Ambassador to Cairo; Şenol Keserlioğlu, General Manager of Hayat Egypt; and senior representatives from SCZONE and Orascom Industrial Parks.
Gamal El-Din highlighted that SCZONE has recently succeeded in attracting a diversified portfolio of investments in line with its localisation strategy. He noted that the expansion of Hayat Egypt signals renewed Turkish investor confidence in the Zone. Today, 18 Turkish companies operate across SCZONE’s areas, especially in textiles, ready-made garments, and hygiene products, with combined investments reaching about $793.8m. This includes 10 companies in the integrated Ain Sokhna zone with $508m in investments, and 8 companies in Qantara West with a further $285.8m.
“These expansions reflect strong trust from Turkish investors in SCZONE’s investment climate,” Gamal El-Din said. He attributed this trust to SCZONE’s intensive global promotion campaigns, major infrastructure upgrades built to international standards, and recent progress in digitising one-stop-shop services to better serve investors.
Gamal El-Din also expressed hope for growing investment from a broader range of countries, supporting SCZONE’s vision to localise and deepen industrialisation in targeted sectors and boost Egyptian exports. He stressed that Egypt’s current political and economic stability, coupled with robust international relations, makes it an attractive destination for investors and strengthens its position as a global hub for industry and logistics services.
