CAIRO: The cost to set up the infrastructure network required of the Suez Canal Axis Development Project will be funded through establishing development projects within the area, Investment Minister Ashraf Salman told Youm7 Wednesday.
Salman said the cost of the infrastructure is estimated at $120-$150 billion.
“Without the law for Economic Zones of a Special Nature issued in July to regulate the investments in the axis, we would have encountered huge difficulties to fund the infrastructure,” he added.
In February, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ratified the new investment law ahead of Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) held in March.
The new law includes amendments over micro industries, mining and local product priority legislation, which would provide many incentives that could boost investment.
The cabinet has approved the project’s layout created by the Suez Canal Authority for the axis zones, Salman said, adding that the layout was submitted to the presidency to be approved as a pre-step for drawing the borders of the axis.
He pointed out that a promotional campaign will commence after the president announces the delimitation of the axis area, which he expects to be in a week.
The Minister noted that a number of Saudi, Italian, Chinese, French and German companies are looking forward to investing in the Suez Canal axis projects.
Sisi has issued a decree to establish a 460-square-kilometer economic zone in the Suez Canal area, Egypt’s official state gazette reported Tuesday.
The zone will be established in the area bounded by east and west Port Said ports, the al-Qantara industrial zone, the Technological Valley in Ismailia and ports of al-Adabia, Ain Sokhna Arish and El-Tor, according to the decree.
Suez Canal Authority Chairman Mohab Mamish will most likely be chairman of the new industrial zone, anonymous officials told al-Tahrir newspaper Tuesday.