Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has launched a tender for eight new licences to produce continuous cast billets, with a combined capacity of 2.8 mln tons per year, as part of efforts to increase domestic steelmaking capacity and reduce reliance on imports.
The tender includes four licences with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year each and another four licences with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year each. The initiative aims to increase local billet availability for domestic rolling mills, deepen integration across Egypt’s steel value chain and reduce dependence on imported semi-finished steel.
The government also expects the projects to help conserve foreign currency and improve the competitiveness of the local steel industry. The IDA said the new licences form part of the government’s broader strategy to encourage investment in basic and downstream metal industries and strengthen the domestic supply of key steelmaking inputs.