Egypt in talks to establish sprawling industrial zone along Golden Triangle

Egypt plans to build a sprawling industrial zone along the Golden Triangle region in the Upper Egypt, three government sources with knowledge told Bloomberg Asharq on Wednesday.

The General Authority of the Golden Triangle Economic Zone (GTEZ) is holding talks with two industrial developers to establish the zone, the sources added.

The construction of the first phase of the anticipated industrial zone is expected to be with investments worth up to $2 billion, the sources added.

In July 2017, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree establishing the Golden Triangle Economic Zone (GTEZ) to take advantage of the country’s under-tapped mineral resources and develop Upper Egypt. The North African country has for years touted the “Golden Triangle” as a potential mining investment. The GTEZ covers the area between the southern city of Qena and the Red Sea towns of Safaga and Qoseir over 2.2 million feddans.

Under the decree, the GTEZ is an economic zone of special nature, to include mineral extraction activities, industrial facilities, touristic zones, commercial hub, agricultural areas, and different classes urban areas, reconsidering infrastructures and to match with development.

Another government source told Asharq that the GTEZ authority had already a list of five Egyptian industrial developers willing to work on the project. The five companies are Orascom Industrial Parks, ElSewedy Industrial Development, CPC Egypt For Industrial Development Company, Polaris Parks, and IDG-Industrial Development Group.