Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued decree in 2018 approving a deal between Egyptian and Russian governments concerning the establishment and operation of Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone. The agreement was signed in Moscow on May 23, 2018. The decree was published in the official gazette Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya on Jan. 23, 2019. As per the Egyptian constitution, any presidential decree shall be published in the official gazette to come into force. Since February 2015, Egypt and Russia have been negotiating $7 billion worth of Russian investments in the Russian Industrial Zone (RIZ) project in the East Port Said region. RIZ would be established on an area of 5.25 million square meters and will be built over three phases, according to a statement issued by the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project will be conducted on three phases, the first phase involves 1 million square meters, will be carried out by a Russian developer who 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 1.6 million square meters and will be finished by 2022, creating 10,000 jobs, while the third phase will develop 2.65 million square meters 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, the statement said. Source: Egypt Today
