Ahmed Darwish, chairperson of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), said that the authority intends to sign a contract to establish the first healthcare city with an English-Spanish alliance next month, with investments worth €4bn.
Darwish explained that the authority is currently revising the legal provisions of the contract in preparation for its signing. Some observations on the contracts were amended and sent to the English-Spanish alliance.
He added that the city is located on an area of 4m sqm. The authority agreed to the English-Spanish alliance after competing with an Emirati alliance.
The authority also intends to allocate 4m sqm of land to one of the industrial development companies next month.
Darwish said that the authority has received investment applications from industrial development companies to develop 22m sqm in the coming period.
He added that the authority is looking for investors whose expansion plans align with the vision of the authority in the long-term.
He continued that the authority conducted settlements with a group of investors on lands in the northwest of Suez worth between EGP 4-5bn.
He pointed out that the authority is negotiating with several international companies, including Toyota Tsusho and MAK, to implement the largest pier in east Port Said area on 5,000 sqm.
He stressed that the work in the city of Ain Sokhna is established according to two axes. The first is to end any problems with investors by having four out of five settlements worth EGP 4bn in the city. The second axis is to attract new investments for the project.
He pointed out that the total contracts for Ain Sokhna amount to 25.6m sqm over 13 months, compared to 2m sqm over 12 years. This is besides the negotiations to attract more foreign developers and investments for the project.
He said that the city of West Qantara includes 197 acres dedicated to small- and medium-sized activities. The authority shall provide the city with the facilities necessary for investors to not carry additional financial burdens.
Darwish explained that all lands within the economic zone project meet all the procedures required to start working on them from all sides, such as the armed forces, which makes the lands viable for investment and development.
He said that the price of a square metre of land in the Suez Canal Economic Zone ranges from $1-3 with a usufruct right for a period of 50 years.
