Ministry of Supply & Internal Trading has laid the foundation stone of the first commercial and logistics zone in Qena with total investments of 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($120 million). The early phase of the zone is developed by United Company for Trading and Distribution UCTD, which is considered to be the first private-public partnership in Qena. The project, which is spanning over 65,000 metre square, will see storage facilities, alongside retail outlets and stores, established over the next three years. The new project is providing 10,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs. The new zone will be offered using the usufruct system for 50 years time. The new logistics area will be divided into two parts. The first will be on an area of 20,000 square meters to set up a logistics complex including warehouses, refrigerators, refrigeration, sorting and packaging, which is a major component in the logistics industry. While the second part of the project is set on an area of 45 thousand square meters for the establishment of a hypermarket and a commercial center and administrative units and a sports club and a hotel.
