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A Chinese–Egyptian–Emirati–Bahraini joint venture (JV) has broken ground on a $210 million solar cells and module manufacturing hub in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).
The Atum Solar Complex, located on a 204,000-square-metre (sqm) site in the TEDA Industrial Zone, will host two factories with an annual production capacity of 2GW of solar cells and 2GW of solar modules.
The JV, led by China’s JA Solar includes the UAE’s Global South Utilities, Bahrain’s Infinity Capital, and Egypt’s AH for Industrial Management and Consulting.
The solar modules factory will supply the Egyptian market and neighbouring Middle East and African markets, while the solar cells facility will be dedicated entirely to exports to the US market.
The project is expected to create around 840 direct jobs once operational.
The complex will use locally sourced raw materials where possible, supporting Egypt’s push to deepen renewable energy industrial supply chains and boost exports.
In August 2025, Zawya Projects had reported that GSU has joined forces with Egyptian, Bahraini and Chinese companies for the integrated solar industrial complex project. The report said the implementation will take up to three years from construction to full operation.
The land usufruct contract for the project was signed in August 2025.
The initial memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in November 2024.
In April 2025, Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone announced that it signed a land lease agreement with the local subsidiary of JA Solar for a solar cell and module production complex within the Freezone at a total investment of $565 million. The project, covering an area of 32.5 hectares, will have annual production capacity of 6 gigawatts (GW) of solar cells and 3 GW of solar modules with operations expected to commence in the first quarter of 2026.
(Writing by Eman Hamed; Editing by SA Kader)
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