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JLCC
- December 9, 2024
Following the conclusion of the First Factory Offering Conference in the Leather City in Robbiki, Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, Engineer Kamel El-Wazir, inspected the third phase of the city included in the new offering.
This phase covers 111 acres, fully equipped with infrastructure and roads. The Prime Minister toured several ready-to-operate factories offered to investors in the city to ensure the quality of available services and facilities, making it an ideal destination for major companies to manufacture high-end leather products under the “Made in Egypt” label. These products are expected to penetrate and export to major global markets. He also visited one of the tanneries operating in the first phase of Robbiki Leather City.
The Prime Minister praised the skills and expertise of Egyptian workers and their ability to manufacture competitive products for global markets. He emphasized that the first phase of Robbiki, covering 176 acres, is part of an integrated system built with the latest global technologies in leather tanning. It also aims to reduce the environmental impact associated with leather tanning production, which he witnessed firsthand during his inspection of the various tanning processes in the factory.
Engineer Mahmoud Mohrez, CEO and Managing Director of Cairo for Investment and Development, stated that Robbiki Leather City is one of the most significant national projects with developmental dimensions—economic, industrial, environmental, and social. The city was designed and planned to provide diverse spaces and necessary facilities for integrated industries and modern services, according to international standards. It is one of the leading clusters in the Middle East, designed and planned at the highest global level.
He explained that the city covers 506 acres, in addition to 282 acres allocated for treatment plants. The city has been implemented in three phases. In the first phase, 213 factories were allocated and operationalized, including tanneries, chemical warehouses, and leather storage facilities. The second phase saw the construction and allocation of 135 factories (40 glue factories and 95 leather tanning and storage facilities), with internal work nearing completion for operation in the first quarter of 2025.
As for the third phase, a final leather industries zone was established, including 100 factories, 68 small production units, service buildings (a technology center, training center, exhibition hall, production supplies shops, and administrative and service buildings). Additionally, 282 acres were allocated for treatment plants, with a current capacity of 8,000 m³/day, undergoing expansion to increase capacity to 24,000 m³/day.
Engineer Gamal Al-Samalouti, Chairman of the Leather Industry Division, highlighted that the leather industry is vital to Egypt’s economy, with leather product manufacturing constituting 5% of the country’s industrial production. He noted that Robbiki Leather City represents hope and the future for the leather industry in all its sectors, from tanning to footwear and leather products, to accessories manufacturing, fashion and design centers, and quality testing laboratories.
Engineer Mahmoud Serag, Chairman of the Leather Export Council, pointed out that the development of Robbiki aims to double leather production to reach 250 million square feet annually, a 280% increase. It also aims to boost finished leather production to increase added value, create jobs, and double exports to exceed $300 million annually.
At the end of his tour, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Engineer Kamel El-Wazir witnessed the handover of contracts for several factories to investors in the first phase of the Leather Tanning City, formalizing their positions and supporting their productivity and competitive capacities.
After the contract handover, Dr. Nahed Youssef, Chairperson of the General Authority for Industrial Development, highlighted the authority’s commitment, through Cairo for Investment and Development, to ensuring the integration of all three phases of the Robbiki project. She emphasized that the city is a model of a value chain cluster, including tanning and raw leather pre-treatment activities in the first phase, to complementary industries like glue and gelatin in the second phase, culminating in the manufacturing of final products in the third phase. This third phase, which marks the first offering of ready factories for leather products and complementary industries, was inaugurated today.