CAIRO, May 6 (MENA) - The Cabinet's media center denied on Tuesday reports that navigation rights in the Suez Canal had been granted to Abu Dhabi Ports Group under a 50-year usufruct agreement on the back of the signing of a deal to develop an industrial zone between the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and the group.

A video clip posted by the center on social media platforms made clear that the signed agreement aims at developing Kizad East Port Said and has nothing to do with navigation rights at the international waterway that falls under the administration of the Suez Canal Authority and not the SCZone.

The agreement does not undermine in any way Egypt’s sovereignty over the Suez Canal or its assets, the center said, stressing that the canal is protected under Article 43 of the Egyptian Constitution, which mandates the state to preserve and develop it as a sovereign international waterway.

The Kizad project covers an area of 20 million square meters within the East Port Said industrial zone, which spans 64 million square meters in total. The development does not include the East Port Said Port itself.

The agreement is a usufruct contract under Law No. 83 of 2002 governing special economic zones, the center said, noting that the signed deal is a standard framework used in the agreements signed by SCZone with industrial developers and investors.

Under the deal, Abu Dhabi Ports Group will develop and operate a logistics and service-based industrial zone to attract investments in targeted sectors, and support industrial localization, technology transfer, job creation, and state revenues from taxes, customs, and added value, according to the Cabinet’s media center.

The project also aims to enhance transit trade, support global supply chains, and boost Egyptian exports, it said. (MENA)
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