A Saudi-UAE alliance involving a group of companies has submitted a request to the Economic Commission of the Suez Canal to obtain 5 million square feet to establish a US$3 billion industrial city, according to Saudi Arabian newspaper, the Arab News.
The alliance’s representative, Ahmed Sabri, said the industrial city would have factories to manufacture various products, including food and cars. There would also be a business city and storage areas.
There would be about US$300 million set aside for the basic infrastructure of the project, while up to US$3 billion would be sought from investors to set up 120 factories and a complete city for businesses, he was quoted by the English-language news newspaper as saying.
Maj. Gen. Abdulqadir Darwish, deputy chairman of the Suez Canal commission, said the aim is to carve out an area in Egypt free of bureaucracy, to drive economic growth.
He said the development plan for the Suez Canal would be completed before July and that the commission would have the mandate to set up projects that would create jobs for Egyptians.
The body would be empowered to pass regulations and laws that would protect the rights of investors and the state. The commission was finalising a number of investment incentives and resolving outstanding issues.
