A consortium of Saudi and UAE companies has expressed interest in setting up a giant industrial city in the Suez region of Egypt at an investment of $3 billion, said a report.

A request has been submitted to the Economic Commission of the Suez Canal for acquiring an area of 5 million sq ft for the project, reported Arab News, citing a senior official.

The industrial city would boast of 120 industrial units and factories which will be manufacturing a wide range of products including food items and automobiles, stated the alliance’s representative, Ahmed Sabri.

About $300 million has been set aside for the basic infrastructure of the project, which would also feature a business city and storage areas, he added.

Deputy chairman Major General Abdulqadir Darwish said the Economic Commission was striving to carve out an area in Egypt free of bureaucracy and the development plan for the Suez Canal would be completed before July.