H&L Doubles Egypt Sportswear Investment to $30M, Breaks Ground in West Qantara
The South Korean manufacturer's factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone is expected to create about 2,000 direct jobs, though no completion date has been given.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
H&L Egypt Apparel has doubled the size of its planned investment in Egypt, raising it to $30 million from $15 million, and has broken ground on a sportswear factory inside the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The Egyptian government announced the groundbreaking on Tuesday.
The South Korean manufacturer expects the plant to generate roughly 2,000 direct jobs. The facility will sit on 42,000 square meters in the West Qantara Industrial Zone, where the company intends to run a technology-driven operation built around environmentally friendly production methods. Sportswear is the focus, which sets the unit apart from the ready-made garment plants that make up most of the zone's project list.
Construction has started, but several details remain undisclosed. Authorities have not given a completion date, nor have they published the plant's annual production capacity or the export revenue it is expected to bring in.
SCZONE Chairman Mostafa Shaikhon attended the ceremony, as did South Korean Ambassador to Egypt Kim Wan-joong and H&L Egypt Apparel CEO Lee Sung-jun.
Shaikhon said the project could draw further South Korean investment, pointing to Egypt's comprehensive strategic partnership with Seoul and to the economic zone's work to attract foreign manufacturers. Lee said the company wants to build an industrial base capable of competing in global markets by applying modern production technology and sustainability standards.
West Qantara's apparel cluster
The industrial zone now hosts 54 projects backed by investors from nine countries, representing about $1.54 billion in investment, according to SCZONE. Textiles and ready-made garments account for 43 of those projects, which makes apparel manufacturing the zone's largest segment measured by project count.
For H&L, the site offers access to Egypt's industrial workforce, its logistics infrastructure and its trade agreements, all of which could help move goods to overseas buyers. Ambassador Kim made a similar case, describing the factory as a chance to pair South Korean manufacturing expertise with Egyptian labor and to widen industrial cooperation between the two countries.
Whether the plant delivers on exports and jobs will depend on construction progress, how quickly production ramps up, and demand from customers abroad.
An earlier agreement and a second Korean deal
The expansion follows H&L's original agreement with SCZONE in November 2025, when it became the first South Korean investor to sign a manufacturing contract in West Qantara. That project fits a wider effort to turn the zone into an export-oriented hub for textiles and apparel.
A day after H&L signed its initial agreement, SCZONE announced a $4.49 million deal with another South Korean company, Samil Solution, to build a garment factory in West Qantara.
