Thirty one investment requests to participate in the Suez Canal Axis Development project were provided to the Suez Canal Authority, head of the authority Mohab Mamish said during the PPP conference.

Mamish added that investment priority will be given to domestic investors.

The Suez Canal Axis Development mega project is expected to provide 1m job opportunities by 2030.

Land will be provided to investors on a usufruct basis for 50 years, he said, explaining that the government will be responsible for providing infrastructure.

Managing director of Dar Al-Handasah Yehia Zaki also said the 460 km of the project’s area will be industrial areas and free zones.

Zaki refused to reveal information on the cost of infrastructure, saying an announcement from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is expected within a week.

 

Zaki has previously said that the cost of development of the project is not “easy to predict, because there is the port, and then you have the infrastructure and the development of the industrial zone”.

The required investments in ports, utilities and infrastructure in total and at different stages are about $50bn to $60bn at least.