A total of 21 international companies will begin operating in the Ain Sokhna industrial zone in January 2018, Al-Ahram Daily reports.

The companies will operate in the area jointly managed by UAE-based port operator DP World and The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).

SCZone and DP World recently signed a partnership agreement to develop the planned economic zone near the Suez Canal. The joint venture company is 51% owned by SCZone and 49% by DP World.

The partnership is expected to create 150,000 new jobs, of which Egyptian workers will make up 90% of the workforce, Al-Ahram quoted the head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mamish, as saying.

Mamish also revealed that a USD 6 bn textile complex will be established in the zone in partnership with Chinese and Egyptian companies.