Project head says relationship between two countries is a win-win proposition

SUEZ, Egypt — China has become the biggest investor in Egypt’s Suez Canal Area Development Project, a mega initiative showcasing a winwin partnership between the two countries, said Ahmed Darwish, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, or SCZone, in an interview with Xinhua.

The aim of the giant project, launched in 2014, is to increase the role of the Suez Canal region in international trading and to develop the three canal cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said.

China’s TEDA Group, one of the oldest industrial developers of the region, has seen a steady increase in the number of its development projects and factories since it entered Egypt and established a joint Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in the Ain Sokhna district of the Suez Canal Corridor east of capital Cairo.

“Currently, the Chinese investments are the largest. We highly appreciate the earnestness of our Chinese partners. They were among the first to act as an industrial developer in the zone,” the SCZone chief said.

“TEDA has put in place the micro-infrastructure and is repurposing the land. They are doing an excellent job.”

Darwish said the partnership was a win-win situation, because TEDA knew best how to promote the zone among Chinese investors, while Egypt’s trade agreements with African states made it easy for Chinese products to enter African markets with- companies

have been attracted to an area in Ain Sokhna, Egypt, developed by China’s TEDA

out trade barriers or customs.

“We are opening up 26 African countries for Chinese investors due to our trade agreements. When they have the ‘Made in Egypt’ label on their products, they go through zero trade barriers and zero customs,” Darwish said, highlighting the zone’s distinguished location that is only one hour away from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, two hours from Djibouti and two-and-a-half hours from Mombasa, Kenya, by air.

The idea of an industrial zone in the Suez Canal Corridor — covering a total area of 461 square kilometers and comprising four sections and six ports — emerged in 1998 when laws were modified to facilitate the presence of foreign investors and to provide foreign companies with land usufruct rights (right to use the property of another for a period of time with the obligation to return it, or leave it, undamaged or unimpaired).

China’s TEDA is working on the development of an area that increased to 7.23 sq km at Ain Sokhna. It has completed its first phase, attracting some 68 enterprises, including Jushi, a fiberglass giant from China. The second phase started in 2016.

Darwish stressed that Egypt was “a major player” in the Belt and Road Initiative.