CAIRO, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) on Wednesday witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony for a new glassware factory to be built by China's Anhui Xinmin Glass in an industrial zone in Ain Sokhna district of Suez province, east of Cairo, the SCZone said in a statement.

Covering an area of more than 163,000 square meters, the project, Xinmin Glass Egypt, will attract over 70 million U.S. dollars in total investment upon completion of its three phases, with the first phase alone exceeding 30 million U.S. dollars, the statement added.

The new factory aims to produce glass tableware, borosilicate products, and kitchenware with an annual output capacity of more than 516 million pieces, expectedly to create over 3,000 jobs, the SCZone said.

The project contract was signed only a few weeks ago, and the first phase is scheduled to begin operations in July 2026, marking "a new qualitative addition to the SCZone's industrial development path" and highlighting ongoing efforts to boost the zone's industrial capacity, expand value-added industries, and support exports to regional and international markets.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by officials of Suez Governorate and the SCZone, and representatives of the Chinese company. ■