Hani Sarrey Eddin, legal advisor to the Suez Canal Development Project, said the amended law on economic zones is the best investment law that could be applied to the project.
The amendments have been examined and approved by the legislative reform committee, after additional changes, which were also reviewed by the president and the prime minister, Sarrey Eddin said. The bill will be submitted for a Cabinet review next week.
During a meeting in the American Chamber of Commerce on Sunday, he highlighted the advantages of the law, which tackles the main problem facing investment in Egypt: the multiple approvals that are required before a project can kick off. He added that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the Defense Ministry will provide its prior approval for all of the lands included in the Suez Economic Zone.
The amended law will include new incentives, he said, pointing to the efforts to convince the finance minister to reduce the tax burden on this zone by 10 percent.
Sarrey Eddin indicated that the Suez Canal Authority could remain in charge of the economic zone for one year, until its new board is formed. The Authority will invest LE2 billion of its revenues in infrastructure on an annual basis.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
