DUBAI, 16 January 2022 – The Suez Canal Economic Zone, one of Egypt’s most ambitious projects, is seeking investors in 15 sectors to convert the Suez Canal region into an economic powerhouse, and take advantage of the fact that 12 per cent of international trade passes along the maritime route.
Yehia Zaki, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, provided an update on the project while addressing a forum on ‘Suez Canal Supporting Global Trade Against Different Challenges’, organised by the Egypt Pavilion at the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo 2020 Dubai on Sunday (16 January).
He said the economic zone – which includes six ports and four industrial zones – represents a great opportunity for global companies to invest in any of the 15 sectors, including solar PV, electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy (including hydrogen), petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, ship bunkering, logistics and data centres.
Zaki said the first part of the project will be completed by 2023 around the Sokhna port, while the first phase of the economic zone will be implemented by 2030. The Sokhna cluster, which is now partially operational, is the largest project in the economic zone, covering an area of 210 square kilometres.
The other key area of the economic zone is located to the east of Port Said, in the northeast of Egypt on the Mediterranean coast, near the northern entrance of the Suez Canal.
Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said the plan is to transform the Suez Canal, one of the most important arteries of global trade, into a ‘green channel’ through the 2030 Strategy, by providing navigational incentives for ships that adhere to green standards.
Points and discounts ranging from 10-20 per cent will be given to transiting ships for green standards, he said, while announcing that the Suez Canal had embraced renewable energy, such as solar and wind, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in its ship-control operations.
Rabiee said that in 2021 the 193 km Suez Canal saw the transit of 20,600 ships, the largest number in its 153-year history, and earned revenues of USD 6.3 billion.
