Egypt’s SCZONE secures $3.23 billion in new contracts over 10-month period

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) attracted $3.226 billion in investments between July 2023 and April 2024. 

In a statement issued by the Egyptian state department, Waleid Gamal Eldien, SCZONE chairman, revealed that the contracts in the industrial zones and ports reached 144 projects, creating more than 25,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.

Eldien also added that the implementation rate on the investments witnessed a 71 percent execution rate for port projects and a 77 percent rate for industrial zone projects.

However, this positive news comes weeks after Dryad Global, a maritime risk assessment agency, noted that Suez Canal traffic more than halved between mid-December and April 1, 2024, resulting in a significant revenue loss for Egypt, totalling $1.2 billion by late March 2024.

127 projects secured in 9 months

Earlier, in March 2023, SCZONE had announced securing contracts for 127 projects within just nine months, totaling an impressive investment of approximately $2.8 billion. This surge in investments underscores the region’s growing appeal as a prime destination for industrial development and investment.

Out of the 127 projects, 61 have received final approval with a foreign investment rate of 49 percent, while 66 of these projects received initial approval, with foreign investments accounting for 39 percent of the total.

SCZONE said it expected that, upon completion, these projects will generate more than 22,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.