Egypt's Ismailia Public Free Zone has drawn $41.6 million in new investments from nine Chinese and Turkish companies, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) revealed Wednesday. The projects — spanning textiles, ready-made garments, sports safety wear and spare parts manufacturing — are expected to create about 16,000 direct jobs. GAFI head Hossam Heiba said the inflows highlight the government's push to improve the business climate and develop export-oriented manufacturing. New textile and garment plants will export their entire output under Egypt's Invest for Export Strategy, with production due to start in 2026. Ayman Saleh, head of the Ismailia zone, said 60 feddans (about 62.3 acres) were fully serviced and allocated to investors in 2024. A further 70 feddans are being prepared for industrial use in 2025 to meet "huge demand" for industrial investment in the Suez Canal region, he said. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: Y.Yasser