Egypt is betting on the Suez Canal Economic Zone to support supply chains and attract investments in light of the continuing effects of the Iranian war on the region.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said during the inauguration of 9 new projects in the region on Sunday that “the Suez Canal economy has become an integrated Egyptian platform for industry and logistics services and a basic pillar in the country’s economic development system.”
He enumerated the exceptional features that the “Economic Zone” possesses, including “the unique geographical location, the integration of ports and industrial zones, and the advanced infrastructure that qualifies it to receive various investments.”
The Suez Canal Economic Zone extends over an area of 455 kilometres, and includes 4 industrial zones: East Port Said, Sokhna, West Qantara, and East Ismailia, in addition to 6 ports: East Port Said, West Port Said, Sokhna, Al-Tur, Adabiya, and Al-Arish.
The nine projects that Madbouly inaugurated on Sunday are located in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, stressing that the region “represents a successful model of integration between industry, trade and logistics services.” During the past period, it succeeded in attracting qualitative investments in various sectors, localizing strategic industries, and enhancing Egypt’s production and export capabilities in a way that supports the country’s position as a regional center for manufacturing and access to global markets.”
He added that the opening of new industrial projects within the Canal Economic Zone “reflects the growing confidence of investors in the Egyptian investment climate, and confirms the state’s success in providing an attractive business environment based on the availability of infrastructure, ease of procedures, and the ability to link local production to supply chains and international markets.”
The General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone achieved the highest revenues in its history during the fiscal year 2023-2024, amounting to 8.25 billion pounds (about 162 million dollars), an increase of 36 percent over the previous fiscal year.
The head of the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Mustafa Shaikhoun, indicated on Sunday that the nine industrial projects that were opened, with a total cost of $84.5 million, provide nearly 2,000 job opportunities.
He pointed out that the diversity of these projects reflects “building an integrated industrial system that supports the deepening of local manufacturing and enhances integration between industrial zones and affiliated ports, confirming the status of the Suez Canal Economic Zone as a global investment destination for industry and logistics services.”
Economist Walid Gaballah says: “Given the uniqueness of the Suez Canal area, its presence in a unique region of the world, its central supply lines, and its integration into supply chains, its importance and bet on it stand out.” He stressed that the importance of the economic region helped attract investments, pointing to projects being opened from time to time.
Observers say that the Suez Canal Economic Zone represents an important navigational artery, and that its impact is not limited to industrial fields, but extends to the commercial, operational and mining sectors.
During the opening of the F-Tex International Ltd. factory for producing woven polyester yarns on Sunday, Madbouly said, “Establishing new projects in the yarn and textile manufacturing sector represents an important step towards building a strong production base, capable of meeting the needs of local markets and expanding into foreign markets.”
During the opening of the “Lijialong” factory for manufacturing brushes, insulation strips, and door and window products and accessories, he also stressed his government’s keenness to attract international companies with specialized industrial expertise in a way that contributes to the transfer of technology and enhances the ability of Egyptian products to compete.
He also pointed out during the opening of the “Na Trans Fertilizers and Chemical Industries” factory that the expansion of chemical industries reflects the state’s direction towards building a more sustainable productive economy, based on developing value-added industries and providing production inputs to vital sectors, in a way that supports increasing exports.
Regarding Egypt’s expansion in foreign investments, Gaballah said: “Egypt has a diversified economy and extends its hand to the East and West, and it has good relations with the West and the East at the same time... with the United States and the European Union, and also with China, Russia, India and other countries of the world.”
For his part, the head of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said on Sunday that the authority aims to build an integrated industrial system linking basic and feeding industries in a way that raises the efficiency of supply chains and enhances the attractiveness of the Suez Canal Economic Zone as a regional center for industry and export.
Regarding the Egyptian bet on the “region,” economic expert Wael El-Nahhas believes that the economics of the Suez Canal “could be the largest transit zone in the world.” He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: This is achieved by attracting multiple investments, especially since it is considered a storage area for commercial goods.
He points out that the industrial zone could also receive stocks that can be remanufactured and exported again in the form of products, especially to the African continent.
