Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday with China’s SANY Renewable Energy to build the country’s first wind turbine manufacturing plant, paired with a 2 gigawatt wind farm in the Gulf of Suez. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat witnessed the signing at the Cabinet headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
The factory, sized for 2 gigawatts of annual output, will rise inside the Suez Canal Economic Zone and is meant to feed a stated Egyptian ambition of becoming a regional manufacturer and exporter of wind equipment to Africa and the Middle East. The agreement lands two years ahead of Egypt’s previous 2030 target for 45 percent renewable energy in the national mix, a goal Madbouly has already publicly moved to 2028. The wind farm and the local-currency implementation sit inside a wider 160 billion Egyptian pound, $2.94 billion plan to upgrade the national grid for renewable loads.
Cairo Signs Egypt’s First Wind Turbine Factory
The deal brings together three state and corporate players around one set of signatures. SANY Renewable Energy chairperson Li Qiang, Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) chairperson Mona Rizk, and New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) chief executive Ehab Ismail signed the memorandum on Wednesday. The three parties set out to deliver, in the government’s words, Egypt’s first wind turbine manufacturing plant, with a paired 2,000 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez.
The signing ceremony drew Prime Minister Madbouly and Electricity Minister Esmat to the Cabinet headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. Madbouly used the event to press the case for localization, framing renewable energy industries as central to Egypt’s energy security. He said localising industries linked to renewable energy is a key pillar of enhancing energy security and advancing the country’s green transition agenda. Esmat said the ministry is finalising local-content rules for renewable energy projects, a step that will set the share of locally-made components in every new installation.
The MoU is the product of earlier engagement, with the Electricity Ministry first meeting SANY in January. For Egypt, the factory marks a first: it has built wind farms before, but never the turbines that go on them. That gap, an importing country for the very machines it needs to expand, is what the MoU is built to close.
The SANY Deal in Numbers
The factory SANY will build is sized to match Egypt’s most aggressive wind build-out plans. Electricity Minister Esmat said the plant will carry an annual production capacity of 2 GW and be completed within a maximum of two years from the signing of the final agreements. Reports carried by Asharq put the Chinese investment at more than $300 million, with the site placed inside the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Until local production lines are fully operational, some key components will continue to be imported from China.
The accompanying 2,000 MW wind farm is set to be connected to Egypt’s national electricity grid within 23 months of the project’s execution. Both the factory and the wind farm will be implemented in local currency, in line with Egypt’s push to settle renewable projects in Egyptian pounds rather than dollars. The first phase of factory output is earmarked for a planned 1,000 MW wind project in the northern Gulf of Suez.
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Factory site | Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) |
| Annual turbine capacity | 2 GW |
| Completion window | within 2 years of final agreements |
| Wind farm size | 2,000 MW in the Gulf of Suez |
| Grid connection | within 23 months of execution |
| Project currency | Egyptian pounds |
| Stated Chinese investment | more than $300 million (per Asharq) |
| Renewable target it supports | 45 percent of national mix by 2028 |
The Regional Hub Bid Beyond Egypt’s Borders
The visible deal is a factory in Egypt’s SCZONE. The consequential one, the part Esmat spelled out on the sidelines of the signing, is a hub play for the wider African and Middle Eastern wind market. The minister said Egypt possesses a large and growing market for solar and wind energy projects, alongside strong trade relations that facilitate access to markets across the Middle East and Africa, positioning the country as a regional hub for renewable energy manufacturing and exports.
The Suez Canal Economic Zone already ships manufactured goods across the same trade lanes the turbines would travel. The SCZONE is being marketed as a gateway to African and Arab markets, leveraging its location along one of the world’s busiest trade routes. Egypt has signed free-trade agreements and qualified industrial zones that lower tariffs on Egyptian-made goods across much of Africa and the Middle East. For a turbine maker, that means a domestic plant sized at 2 GW a year can plausibly serve a region where wind capacity is rising fast. Egypt’s installed capacity of 7,750 MW at the end of 2024 fell short of an 8,778 MW target, leaving a domestic pipeline still hungry for turbines.
Egypt possesses a large and growing market for solar and wind energy projects, alongside strong trade relations that facilitate access to markets across the Middle East and Africa, positioning the country as a regional hub for renewable energy manufacturing and exports.
Mahmoud Esmat, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said this at the Cabinet signing in Cairo on June 24, 2026.
The hub framing is also a pressure point: factories only work if there is enough recurring demand, and Egypt is offering SANY a captive home market plus a launching pad. Prime Minister Madbouly said the government is committed to expanding partnerships with local and international private-sector investors to implement renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and energy storage systems, using local currency. For SANY, ranked among the TOP 6 global wind power manufacturers per the company’s own profile, Egypt is a foothold on the African continent and a second major export base after China, supporting Madbouly’s 45 percent renewable energy target by 2028.
The Gulf of Suez Wind Corridor Already Exists
The factory does not start in empty ground. Egypt enjoys excellent wind along the Gulf of Suez with an average wind speed of 10.5 m/sec, one of the strongest onshore wind regimes outside East Asia and the U.S. Great Plains. The corridor already hosts the country’s main installed wind capacity, with refurbishment work under way on NREA’s 700-turbine Zaafarana and Gabal El Zeit fleets. A 540 MW project is under construction in the Gulf of Suez with another 580 MW project awaiting financing, and the government has allocated 7,845 square kilometers in the Gulf of Suez region and the Nile Banks for further wind development. The same corridor already drew the consortium behind the 900 MW Ras Shokeir wind farm power purchase agreement.
- 540 MW project under construction in the Gulf of Suez
- 580 MW project awaiting financing in the Gulf of Suez
- 200 MW project feasibility study under way in the West Nile
- 262.5 MW Ras Ghareb wind farm expanded in early 2024 by 50 MW
- Lekela’s 250 MW West Bakr wind farm, under the BOO model
- 1,625 MW of additional pipeline from NREA and private foreign direct investment
That pipeline is what makes the factory economics defensible. Egypt imported more than $235 million worth of wind turbines and major turbine components in 2024 alone, a sum SANY’s 2 GW plant is positioned to redirect into domestic production if timelines hold. The wider Gulf of Suez market is moving too, with the $420 million Gabal El Zeit wind farm sale marking the first renewable power asset under IMF-backed privatisation.
Where the Localisation Bet Stops Short
The factory is meant to end Egypt’s status as a turbine importer, not kick it off. Egypt imported more than $235 million worth of wind turbines and major turbine components in 2024, a tall order to replace. Waya Media’s reporting on the MoU notes that until local production lines are fully operational, some key components will continue to be imported from China, a transitional setup that limits how fast localisation can be claimed.
Egypt’s track record on capacity targets also tempers the timeline. By the end of 2024, 7,750 MW of renewable capacity was installed across the country, against an 8,778 MW target. The deficit was largely due to delays in commissioning a few large-scale wind and solar projects in the Red Sea and Western Desert regions, per a U.S. country commercial guide on Egypt’s electricity sector.
- 45 percent – Egypt’s renewable energy target for 2028, two years earlier than the prior 2030 plan
- $300 million – stated Chinese investment in the SCZONE factory (per Asharq)
- 2,000 MW – capacity of the paired Gulf of Suez wind farm
- 7,750 MW – Egypt’s installed renewable capacity at the end of 2024
- $235 million – value of wind turbines and components Egypt imported in 2024
The local-currency implementation is the second live risk. Both the factory and the wind farm will be settled in Egyptian pounds, a deliberate move to reduce dollar exposure on Egypt’s energy build-out. It also means SANY is taking on Egyptian pound risk over a multi-year construction and operations cycle, a currency that has periodically required IMF support to stabilise. The first phase of SANY’s output will feed a 1,000 MW wind project in the northern Gulf of Suez, the practical proof point for whether localisation is real or a label, per Asharq. Madbouly’s grid upgrade plan, a 160 billion Egyptian pound, $2.94 billion programme to absorb the additional renewable load, is the third moving part that has to land in parallel for the factory’s customers to actually connect. Esmat set a maximum of two years from the signing of the final agreements for the plant to reach full capacity, with the wind farm carrying a 23-month grid connection target.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Egypt building its first wind turbine factory?
Inside the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), with a stated 2 GW annual production capacity. Waya Media, citing Asharq, puts the Chinese investment at more than USD 300 million, with the first phase of output earmarked for a 1,000 MW wind project in the northern Gulf of Suez.
What is Egypt’s renewable energy target for 2028?
Prime Minister Madbouly has moved the 45 percent renewable energy share in the national electricity mix forward to 2028, two years ahead of the previous 2030 plan. The wider U.S. country guide on Egypt’s electricity sector records a 42 percent target for 2030 and more than 60 percent by 2040.
Who is SANY Renewable Energy?
Part of China’s SANY Group, founded in 1989, with three listed entities including SANY Renewable Energy on the Shanghai stock exchange. The company’s own profile ranks it among the TOP 6 global wind power manufacturers, and a 2026 market survey puts SANY’s installed wind capacity at 39 GW.
What other wind projects already run in the Gulf of Suez?
The corridor already runs at scale: a 540 MW project is under construction, a 580 MW project is awaiting financing, and the Zaafarana and Gabal El Zeit fleets together cover 700 turbines that NREA is refurbishing for higher output. Lekela’s 250 MW West Bakr wind farm runs in the area under the BOO model.
