CAIRO: China is to build its first ever foreign industrial zone in Egypt in a project that is expected to draw $2.5 billion in investment, Egypt s Trade and Industry minister said Tuesday.
The five-square-km Chinese Egyptian Zone for Cooperation and Trade will be built near Suez over the next 13 years at a cost of $100 million, Rachid Mohamed Rachid said in a statement.
The deal, inked during a visit by Chinese Deputy Minister of Commerce Liao Xiaoqi, is expected to attract $2.5 billion in Chinese investments in industries including garments, textiles and electronics, it said.
The deal is a testament to the considerable advantages that Egypt today offers as a manufacturing destination, Rachid said.
This new zone will serve as a hub in the region for Chinese manufacturers looking to move closer to markets throughout the Middle East and Africa.
Rachid said during a visit to China last year that Egypt wanted to establish a special relationship that could see the United States replaced as Egypt s key economic partner.
