A New Era in Industry: Egypt Turns Back to Its Own Resources and Production

In our previous articles, we examined Egypt’s economic transformation, its investment environment, Gulf capital, and the role of Turkish investors in Egypt.

Today, however, it is necessary to look at a more concrete aspect of the transformation taking place in Egypt.

Because the new approach recently put forward by the Ministry of Industry provides important clues as to what kind of industrial country Egypt wants to become in the coming years.

The Ministry’s agenda includes bringing factories struggling with production back into the economy, processing raw materials available in the country and integrating them into industrial production, reducing dependence on imports, and paving the way for new manufacturing investments.

At the heart of this approach lies a very clear idea:

Egypt does not simply want to use the resources it possesses; it wants to add value to those resources.

Turning Raw Materials into Production

One of the most concrete examples of this is manganese.

Although manganese is available in Egypt, the country imports approximately $170–180 million worth of manganese products every year. The Ministry is working with companies to process this raw material in Egypt and reduce imports.

A similar situation exists with refractory raw materials used in cement kilns. Annual imports in this area are reportedly around $170 million. The Ministry’s objective is to produce as much of these raw materials as possible domestically.

This reveals the fundamental logic behind the new industrial policy:

Not merely extracting raw materials, but processing them in Egypt and transforming them into higher value-added products.

Building the Production Chain in Egypt

This approach is not limited to mining.

The steel door industry could also become a concrete example of this strategy.

Egypt’s imports of doors, windows and related products made of iron and steel reached nearly $35 million in 2025. A significant portion of these imports comes from Türkiye, with Türkiye accounting for approximately $27 million.

These figures demonstrate not only the size of the market but also the importance of commercial relations between Türkiye and Egypt in this sector.

While steel doors are manufactured in Egypt, there are also situations in which differences between the customs value of imported products and domestic production costs can create competitive challenges for local manufacturers.

The objective here should not be to prevent imports, but to establish fair and transparent competitive conditions between companies manufacturing in Egypt and imported products.

Bringing together inputs such as steel sheets and profiles, MDF, locks and hinges, insulation materials and paint in Egypt and transforming them into finished products means more than simply manufacturing a door. It means establishing a production chain that creates employment, local sourcing opportunities and added value.

For this reason, the steel door industry can be considered one of the areas where Egypt can reduce imports while simultaneously increasing domestic production and export capacity.

New Steps in Steel

The same approach can also be seen in the iron and steel industry.

Egypt is evaluating license applications aimed at increasing billet production capacity. The objective is to produce a larger share of the inputs required by domestic industry within the country and strengthen the production chain.

This creates a broader objective: not only producing finished goods domestically, but also manufacturing the industrial inputs that go into those products.

Struggling Factories Back on the Agenda

Another important element of the Ministry’s new approach is factories that are struggling with production or have ceased operations.

Egypt views these factories not merely as economic problems, but as existing industrial assets that can be brought back into production.

Through new support initiatives, the objective is to restart these factories, create employment and make use of existing production capacity once again.

Sometimes, bringing an existing manufacturing facility back to life can be faster and more economical than building a new factory from scratch.

The Real Objective of the New Industrial Policy

When all these developments are considered together, Egypt’s new industrial policy becomes clearer.

Domestic raw materials will be utilized.

Some industrial inputs that are currently imported will be produced domestically.

Existing factories will be brought back into operation.

Local supply chains will be developed.

New investments will be encouraged.

And all of this will be combined with an export-oriented strategy.

Egypt no longer wants to be merely a country seeking investment. It wants to become an industrial hub that produces, processes, creates added value, and sells its products to the region and the world.

This transformation also creates important opportunities for Türkiye.

Türkiye’s experience in machinery, textiles, food, metal processing, automotive components, packaging and industrial technologies can be combined with the new production chains that Egypt needs.

In the coming period, we will be talking more not only about large-scale investments in Egypt, but also about investments that transform raw materials into finished products, establish local supply chains, bring existing factories back into production, and focus on exports.

Because Egypt’s new role is not based solely on its geographical position.

The real issue is whether it can transform its resources, workforce and existing production capacity into genuine industrial strength.

This is where the real test of Egypt’s new industrial policy will begin.