Sisi in Ismailia to inaugurate multi-bln dollar investment project

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is heading to Ismailia to inaugurate the Suez Canal development project, reported the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) on Monday.

Developing the area surrounding the Suez Canal has been the dream of three successive governments. The plan was proposed twice during ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s administration, and was briefly revived by the Cabinet under deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

The project’s execution was halted during Mubarak’s time due to its high price tag, and then faced another stumbling block when Morsi’s presidency was cut unexpectedly short last summer.

Morsi’s administration was harshly criticized for granting foreign countries the right to own land around the strategically important area. There were unconfirmed allegations that Qatar would be given special permits and exclusive privileges to operate the project.

According to MENA, the development of over four million acres of land would rake in an estimated US$100 billion in earnings for the Egyptian state upon its completion, and should create one million new jobs.

In this iteration of the project, Egyptians will be allowed to both invest in the project and buy land, while foreign investors will not be permitted to own land in the area.