The chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Mohab Mamish says an agreement was reached with Russia to establish a company to operate and administer the anticipated $7 billion Russian industrial zone east of Port Said before April.

According to a statement issued by SCzone on Tuesday, Mamish, who is on a visit to Russia, said Russia has agreed to provide all required assurances guaranteeing that the new company will administer the zone project.

Mamish also said that the SCzone has agreed to Russia's request to prepare the land necessary for establishing the project, which is expected to provide 35,000 job opportunities.

Agreed upon in May 2018, the Russian industrial zone is set to be established over three phases on a 5.25 million square-metre plot of land, with the first phase to cost $190 million.

Following his talks with the Russian side, Mamish attended a workshop in the presence of representatives of about 200 major Russian firms interested in investing in the project.

Havel Solar is among the companies that participated in the workshop. The company is an integrated solar energy consortium seeking to find solutions to electricity problems in remote areas and industrial zones.