Russian Industrial Zone agreement will be signed next March

CAIRO - 7 February 2018: Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade affirmed that the governmental agreement project about the Russian Industrial zone in Egypt has been approved, according to the Russian News agency.

“The industrial zone document is scheduled to be signed next March in Moscow,” a source from the Ministry of Trade said.

The source confirmed that the Russian industrial zone will be in the Suez Canal’s economic zone.

In December, the Suez Canal Economic Zone revealed the details on the negotiated Russian Industrial Zone (RIZ).

The RIZ will be established on an area of 5.25 square kilometers and will be built over three phases.

Development works of the first phase, which will involve one square kilometer, will start in 2018 by a Russian developer that will also work on attracting Russian investors and companies throughout 2018 and 2019. This phase will create 7,300 jobs in the construction field.

The second phase will develop 1.60 square kilometers and will be finished by 2022, creating 10,000 jobs, while the third phase will develop 2.65 square kilometers and generate 17,000 jobs.

The three phases are expected to be finished by 2031, when Russian companies will start operations, providing some 35,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Industrial projects and buildings will be built over a space of 2.8 square meters, while the rest of the land will be used to build residential units as well as commercial and entertainment facilities for the zone's staff.

The Egyptian and Russian sides have agreed to establish a company, under the name of Moscow Economic Zone, to be responsible of the zone’s operations and construction works.

The two sides have further agreed that the Egyptian and Russian governments will supervise the project, which is funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a number of Egyptian banks.