A new industrial free zone is to be established in Egypt’s Minya province, according to the General Authority for Investment (GAFI).

The 1.2 million square metre zone will be developed part of a major expansion of the existing East Minya industrial area and will focus on industrial exports.

The GAFI report, which outlined the details of the free zone, says the total investment cost of developing the area will reach $57.5m, and will be implemented in three phases over 10 years.

The report went on to project that the area is set to create over 35,000 jobs once complete.

GAFI said the proposed investment opportunities in the zone include cotton ginning, textile and fabric manufacturing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, food industries, as well as marble and building materials industries.

GAFI is looking to expand current areas and create three new free zones in Minya, South Sinai and Badr City.

In June, Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman said the government is keen to press ahead with establishing a number of industrial free zones in Upper Egypt.

In early September, MEED reported that the UAE’s Aramex is currently in talks with Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding for the development of several logistics projects in Egypt. Damman-based Zamil Industrial is also set to develop a 202,342-square-metre logistics centre, which will be built in the Qena governorate.

Cairo is currently planning to develop an industrial and logistics zone surrounding the main ports of the Suez Canal. The government recently approved a draft decree establishing the General Authority of the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal (GAESC), changing the area into an economic authority, allowing the SCZone to act as a single window able to deal with investors directly.

Despite this, Egypt has struggled to attract the investment it had hoped for in order to develop these zones and successfully diversify the economy.