A meeting between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is scheduled to take place within days in order to prepare for the Development and Investment Conference, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb said in a Sunday interview with a private satellite channel Al-Nahar. Mehleb announced that the conference will take place in either November or by the beginning of 2015. The Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud advocated holding the conference after the announcement of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's victory in the presidential elections, in order to support Egypt economically. During the interview, Mehleb further said that the cost of the Suez Canal Axis Development project would cost around EGP 50bn, adding that the government will presents its plan to consultancy firms within six months. The project entails extensive development plans, including the construction of four new seaports in the three provinces surrounding the canal, a new industrial zone west of the Gulf of Suez, and a technology valley in Ismailia. Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said in May that by the beginning of 2015 the infrastructure work in the project would be issued to international companies on a usufruct basis for 25 years.
