Egypt rejects claims of ceding Sokhna land to Qatari firm; clarifies details of $200 million investment
The Egyptian Cabinet’s Media Center has issued a formal statement to debunk widespread allegations regarding the purported “concession” of land in Sokhna to the Qatari company, Al-Mana Group, without financial or investment returns for the state.
The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) categorically denied these claims, reaffirming that the SCZONE, along with all its affiliated facilities and industrial zones, remains fully state-owned and under total Egyptian sovereignty.
The Authority clarified that the land designated for Al-Mana Holding’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in the Sokhna Integrated Zone was granted under a usufruct arrangement, a standard legal framework applied to all SCZONE investment contracts.
The statement emphasized that:
No ownership was relinquished: The state retains full title to the land.
Investment vs. fees: The widely cited $200 million figure represents the project’s initial investment costs and is not the fee paid for the usufruct rights.