The six maritime ports in Egypt's Suez Canal economic zone are expected to generate revenues up to US$12 billion annually, after the completion of all the planned industrial and commercial projects there. Ahmed Darwish – Head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority – said in a speech at the CEOs conference kicked off Wednesday in Cairo that his authority seeks to contribute to Egypt's GDP by administering and developing Egypt's Suez Canal megaprojects. Last November, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decreed that the area of the Suez Canal Axis Development project has been made an economic zone. A flagship project for the Egyptian president, the special economic zone will cover an area of 461 square kilometres across the three Suez Canal governorates of Suez, Port Said and Ismailiya, and will include six maritime ports once it is completed by 2045. The Suez Canal development plans are long term and will take years to complete over two phases, the first of which is due by 2030, while the second is set to be completed by 2045. The authority acts as a regulator for the zone, as well as a one-stop-shop for investors to obtain licences and registration for the projects in the zone, bypassing the cumbersome bureaucracy of different government bodies. The authority is vested with the powers to make decisions independent of cabinet approval, with the exception of the ministries of defence, interior, foreign affairs and justice.
