RIYADH: Egypt’s automotive industry is set to experience significant growth with Rolling Plus Chemical Industries Co. announcing plans to establish a tire manufacturing plant with an investment of 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion). The company has signed a contract with the Egyptian government to establish the plant, which will be located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as reported by Al-Arabiya. The tire manufacturing facility will be spread over an area of 400,000 sq. meters and will have an annual production capacity of 7 million tires. The project will be implemented in three phases, and it will produce tires for passenger cars, as well as light and heavy commercial vehicles. The first phase will involve the construction of the factory and production lines for passenger car tires, with a capacity of 2.5 million tires annually. The investment for this phase will range from 400 million euros to 450 million euros and serve 50 percent of the local market. The second phase will focus on the production of light commercial vehicles, with an annual capacity of 3.5 million tires, addressing 40 percent of the domestic market. The third phase will see the production capacity increase to 7 million tires, with the addition of heavy commercial vehicle tire manufacturing. Suez Canal Economic Zone Chairman Walid Gamal El-Din highlighted the importance of the project in the localization of the tire industry, a crucial step in reducing imports and meeting local market demands. He noted that the project would create around 1,000 direct and indirect job opportunities within the Main Development Co., the investment arm of the economic authority. “The significance of this project lies in the localization of the tire industry, especially with the presence of a technical partner, the Finnish company “Black Donuts,” which will provide all technical consultations for the project’s designs from its inception to tire manufacturing and its stages,” added El-Din. Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly attended the contract signing ceremony. Main Development Co. Managing Director Abdul Nasser Rafai and RPCI CEO John Barkat signed the contract.