Ismailia Governor Yassin Taher moved to take back the lands formerly belonging to the state that housed the Telemasr electronics factory, acting under direct orders from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Wednesday.
Taher and a number of high-ranking security personnel visited the site early that day to claim the area for the governorate.
The factory, which has been inactive since the lands were bought by former Mubarak-era MP Hani Sorour, rests on 43,000 sqm and overlooks El-Temsah Lake and the Suez Canal.
Sorour undertook the construction of a number of subsidiary buildings including a sporting club and a football field but expelled thousands of factory workers.
Taher has told the remaining workers that the land-grab should not affect them adversely and that the governorate will strive to uphold their rights.
This is the most recent land-grab by the government as it seeks to take back industrial or agricultural land that was privatised under the Mubarak regime but has since stagnated. It remains unclear what the government plans to do with the land.
Ibrahim Mehleb, former prime minister and current presidential aide for the return of state land, is working closely alongside the president to accelerate the process of return.
