Egypt’s Suez Canal signs $15.6bn deal for green hydrogen manufacturing

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has signed a $15.6 billion agreement with prominent Chinese companies to boost green fuel manufacturing initiatives.

The agreements are set to produce around 9,000 job opportunities and encompass the establishment of 11 projects, according to the Chairman of SCZONE Walid Gamal El-Din.

This deal is reflective of a continual effort in recent months by Egypt to partner with international entities to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives in the Suez Canal Zone.

For the fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the ports affiliated with the division signed seven agreements with a value of $1.34 billion, the Central Bank of Egypt reported.

Egypt’s total foreign trade revenue amounted to $111.40 billion in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, with the UAE, the US, China, and Saudi Arabia as the country’s top trading partners.

According to a report by the CBE, this permitted $70.78 billion in imports and $39.64 billion in exports.

China, as the country’s third largest trading partner, saw $7.50 billion in trading volume, with $6.6 billion in imports and $904.8 million in exports.

Trade with Saudi Arabia amounted to $6.56 billion, with $4.94 billion in imports and $1.61 billion in exports.

In June, Saudi Arabia announced plans to sign two agreements with Egypt to enhance the country’s participation in the Kingdom’s industrial and mining sectors, aligned with Vision 2030.

Last year, the volume of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports to Egypt exceeded SR11 billion ($2.9 billion), with imports totaling SR10 billion.

The Kingdom’s primary exports to Egypt included petrochemicals, building materials, and medicine, while key imports comprised food products, heavy machinery and electronics.

Egypt aims to see an increase in its US dollar liquidity to $191 billion by 2026, $17 billion of which is set to be from the Suez Canal.

The zone’s revenues hit a record of $196 million in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.

Foreign direct investments and Suez Canal activities increased 12.8 percent in the last fiscal year, amounting to $10 billion during that period, according to the report by the CBE.