Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Walid Gamal El-Din attended the ceremony for laying the foundation stone of the Chinese company "Henneway," specialised in manufacturing travel luggage, in the Al Qantara West industrial area, covering a total area of 120,000 square metres, with total investments reaching 50 million US dollars, providing 3,000 job opportunities. The event was attended by Mr. Hailong Wu, Chairman of Henneway, Mr. Liu Qing Zhao, Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, the Deputy Governor of Ismailia, and a member of the House of Representatives for the Al Qantara area, along with several executive leaders from the authority.

In this context, Mr. Walid Gamal El-Din explained that the Al Qantara West industrial area clearly reflects the will of the Egyptian state and the economic plans of the Suez Canal; through improving infrastructure and providing an attractive investment climate, the Al Qantara West industrial area has been developed to include nine projects in its first phase across several fields, including textiles and fabrics, spinning and weaving, ready-made garments, medical devices, sportswear, food industries, in addition to the travel luggage project. Recently, contracts have been signed for six of these projects with total investments of 271 million dollars, covering an area of 614,000 square metres, providing more than 12,000 job opportunities, and contracts for the remaining three projects are in progress.

He confirmed that the "Henneway" project adds to the record of enhancing cooperation between the Suez Canal Economic Zone and Chinese investments, which have exceeded 3 billion dollars so far. He indicated that the project represents a significant opportunity to strengthen our position as an industrial and commercial hub in the region in this field. Furthermore, this project will lead to the creation of 3,000 new job opportunities, which is one of the core developmental goals that the Suez Canal Economic Zone aims to achieve.

For his part, Mr. Hailong Wu stated that he learned about the Suez Canal Economic Zone during his meeting with the Authority's Chairman during his visit to China in October 2023, which prompted him to visit Egypt to see the economic zone in person. The project contract was signed in December 2023, where the support provided by the economic zone, alongside investment incentives and international agreements, encouraged the company to start the project as quickly as possible. He emphasised the importance of continued cooperation among all stakeholders in the upcoming phase to complete construction works, affirming the project's ability to achieve the desired objectives through the support of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

It is worth noting that Henneway is one of the largest travel bag manufacturing companies in the world, with major clients including leading brands in this field such as Samsonite, Delsey, Swiss Gear, and Travelite. The project is scheduled to commence construction in January 2025, with operations expected to start in December 2025.

Cabinet