Development of Russian industrial zone in Egypt to be handled by Crystal Fund - Industry and Trade Ministry
MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) - Russia has decided on the structure that will attract investors to the Russian industrial zone (RIZ) being created in Egypt over a long period; with the Industry and Trade Ministry stating that the Crystal Fund will act as the comprehensive development institution for the RIZ.
The organization was presented at a meeting between Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Roman Chekushov and the board chairman and director of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Walid Gamal El-Din, the ministry said in a press release.
The Crystal Fund, founded by former Russian Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka and his deputy Alexander Krutikov, is currently participating in the implementation of a number of state projects - the program for the comprehensive development of the Arctic and the Transarctic Transport Corridor (TTC), the creation of the AI-Gosplan digital platform based on artificial intelligence, and the formation of the Eastern Financial Center on Russky Island.
"The Russian government's determination of the comprehensive development institution for the Russian industrial zone in Egypt will allow us to move on to practical actions. The Crystal Fund will act as a single access point for investors, developers, and residents. Now companies that want to enter the Egyptian market can also contact the fund," Chekushov was quoted as saying.
"The fund's task as a comprehensive development institution is, with the government's support, to organize the most favorable interaction between investors and the state and to create the best conditions for attracting capital, launching new production facilities and forming modern international cooperation chains in the interests of economic growth and technological development," the president of the Crystal Fund, Alexander Galushka, was quoted as saying.
The Industry and Trade Ministry recalled that the sectors being considered for localization include mechanical engineering, metallurgy, production of building materials, radio electronics, electrical equipment, the pharmaceutical industry and the production of medical equipment, the chemical industry and petrochemistry (including the cosmetics industry), the wood processing sector and a number of others.
The RIZ project is being implemented in the northeastern part of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and currently represents a plot with a total area of 50 hectares with access to the port of Ain Sokhna. A year ago, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk told journalists that the start of operations of the Russian industrial zone in Egypt is scheduled for 2030. It is planned that the development of project documentation and construction and installation work at the RIZ will be carried out in 2026-2029.
