Arab Finance: The General Authority of Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) has requested the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) to allocate three land plots, ranging in size between 150 and 200 feddans, to establish investment zones, GAFI’s CEO Hossam Heiba told Hapi Journal.
The three investment zones are set to vary between industrial and services ones, with a focus on complementary activities, including textiles industries, automotive feeding industries, and logistics services, Heiba noted.
GAFI has proposed around six locations for the investment zones, including the New Alamein City, Heiba highlighted, expecting the allocation procedures to be finalized within two months and the marketing for the zones to begin before year-end.
Heiba proposed three models for investment in these zones; the first involves NUCA becoming the zone developer and the spending manager of utilities prior to offering the zones to investors.
However, the second model includes contracting with specialized developers, while the third involves the presence of an industrial developer capable of luring in large number of complementary industries as long as it bears the cost of its own utilities in exchange for a lower land price.
Heiba revealed that a Chinese industrial investor has submitted an offer for the third proposed investment model, while Turkish and European investors have also expressed interest in the project.
On the other hand, GAFI is currently looking into nine requests for golden licenses in the sectors of education, industry, logistics, and tourism, Heiba said.