President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has issued a decree establishing a phosphate industrial zone in Aswan with estimated investments totalling EGP 3.3bn, the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade announced Monday. The industrial zone will include 12 integrated industrial complexes and is expected to offer thousands of job opportunities, the ministry added. The industrial zone will be constructed over an area of 5,115 feddans. Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour highlighted the area is rich in phosphate ores, which can be used to produce fertilisers and chemical products. The minister said the industrial zone has the potential to be one of the largest zones in the phosphate production and exportation field. Last month, an official at the General Authority for Industrial and Mining Projects plans to finish establishing seven logistical areas during the first quarter (Q1) of 2015. He added that the government plans to finish establishing 13 industrial zones by the end of 2015. Of these, three zones will be in Sohag, three in Beni Suef, one in Gamasa in Daqahleya governorate, another in El-Wadi El-Gedid, two in Kafr El-Sheikh and two in Qaliubiya.
