Polaris Parks-led consortium pulls out of Ain Sokhna industrial project due to delays receiving land: A consortium of Polaris Parks, ARDIC for Real Estate and SIAC Holding has canceled a contract with the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) to establish a new 5.5 mn sqm industrial zone near Ain Sokhna following delays receiving the land, Al Mal reports, citing informed sources. The company originally planned to have completed the first phase of the facility within two years of signing the contract, which was finalized back in 2017, but the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has reportedly delayed handing over the land. The authority reportedly offered the company a different plot of land, which it refused because of the presence of an oil pipeline. Shareholders also decided that the project was no longer economically feasible due to falling demand for industrial units.

SCA boss Yehia Zaki dismissed the claims that Polaris had terminated the contract because of delays, claiming instead that the company wanted to focus on its industrial project in Sadat City. Polaris estimated that the zone would attract USD 3.5 bn in investments within 15 years of its completion, providing 50k direct and indirect jobs.