Egypt breaks ground on solar manufacturing plant

From the newsletter

China’s Sunrev Solar and the Egyptian government have launched a $200 million industrial complex in Ain Sokhna, aiming to localise the full solar manufacturing value chain. The project will deliver 2,000 MW of solar cells and modules in phase one. Phase two will focus on capacity expansion and raw material production, including silicon ingots and wafers.

• Egypt’s solar manufacturing capacity is projected to exceed 7,000 MW in the near term. This project joins the 5,000 MW facility in a Suez free zone under development by EliTe Solar, a Singapore-based company, among others.

• Special Economic Zones (SEZs), such as Egypt’s SCZONE and South Africa’s Northern Cape SEZ, help to de-risk solar manufacturing investments via tax breaks, streamlined regulations, and technology transfer partnerships.

More details

• The Ain Sokhna complex will cover 200,000 square meters and be developed in two phases. The first phase, with a $90 million investment, will establish two factories producing 2,000 MW of solar cells and 2,000 MW of solar modules annually. The second phase, worth $110 million, will localise production of silicon ingots and wafers, completing the solar manufacturing value chain within Egypt.

• Africa’s solar manufacturing is growing, with projects in Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Egypt leads with multiple large-scale facilities in SEZs, while South Africa’s Northern Cape SEZ hosts advanced solar manufacturing initiatives. Ethiopia, which is currently producing solar cells for export, recently announced plans to add solar manufacturing facilities, reflecting a broader continental trend toward leveraging SEZs for renewable energy industrialisation.

• Egypt's Ain Sokhna facility, however, is the second in Africa to integrate both solar cell and module production at this scale, a step beyond assembly-only plants. Singapore’s EliTe Solar 5,000 MW hub in the Suez TEDA zone is the first to combine cell and module manufacturing, positioning Egypt as a regional solar manufacturing hub.

• Localising raw material production in Egypt through this project could increase demand for key inputs like silicon, copper, and tin. Countries rich in these resources stand to benefit. For instance DR Congo and Zambia hold some of the world’s largest copper reserves, essential for solar wiring and electrical components, while Nigeria has silica sand deposits critical for solar glass manufacturing.

• SEZs provide vital infrastructure, fiscal incentives, and regulatory certainty that attract foreign direct investment and enable technology transfer. Egypt’s SCZONE and South Africa’s Northern Cape SEZ exemplify how these zones reduce investment risks, cluster suppliers, and facilitate export logistics through port access.

• Also important are the partnerships forged between African manufacturers and global players such as SunRev Solar, JA Solar, and EliTe Solar. Beyond technology, these partnerships bring invaluable managerial expertise and operational know-how, helping African firms to enhance efficiency, quality, and competitiveness in the global market.

Our take

• The current landscape, with Egypt leading the charge, demonstrates that the long-held dependency on imported solar components can be systematically dismantled through focused industrial policy.

• The next step is for African governments to deepen policy coherence by harmonising regulations across SEZs and investing in skills development to build a qualified local workforce. This will ensure that solar manufacturing hubs are not just assembly lines but centres of innovation and quality production.

• The final step must be to foster stronger regional integration and intra-African trade in solar components and raw materials. By creating interconnected supply chains and reducing trade barriers, Africa can scale manufacturing efficiently and attract greater foreign direct investment.