Egypt has denied claims that it ceded land in the Sokhna integrated zone to Qatar's Al Mana Holding, clarifying that the company's sustainable aviation fuel project is based on a usufruct system and remains under full Egyptian sovereignty. The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) confirmed on Thursday that all facilities and industrial areas under its jurisdiction are state-owned. The $200m figure previously cited represents the project's investment costs rather than a purchase price for the land, the authority said in a statement issued via the cabinet's media centre. The government said the project will generate both direct and indirect returns, including land usufruct fees, Sokhna port handling charges, and administrative fees. Indirect benefits include the procurement of local raw materials, the involvement of Egyptian construction firms, and the creation of thousands of direct jobs for Egyptian workers. "The land for the Al Mana Holding project… is granted to the company under the usufruct system, as is customary with the authority's other investment contracts, without ceding any part of it," the SCZone stated. The authority also clarified that tax and customs exemptions granted to the project are standard investment incentives provided under the SCZone law for special economic zones, rather than specific concessions for a single investor. Regarding the project's commercial viability, the statement noted that Al Mana had secured an agreement with Shell to supply its entire production output prior to signing the contract with the SCZone. This arrangement was based on extensive financial studies to ensure marketing and return on investment. The SCZone highlighted that Sokhna was selected due to the integration between the industrial zone and the port—recently recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's deepest man-made port basin. The location serves as a pivotal gateway to the Red Sea and Africa, reducing production and transport costs for target markets. Officials urged the public to disregard "misleading information" intended to damage major investment projects in the country.
