Disputed Egyptian steel magnet Ahmed Eiz tried to squat half of the industrial zone of Jijel
The inhabitants of the Algerian province Jijel, eastern Algeria, have largely commented the attempts made by the Egyptian steel magnet Ahmed Eiz to flee his country along with his family in the wake of the latest turmoil that rocked the country since January 25.
- Ahmed Eiz is known from the citizens of this coastal town as being the Egyptian tycoon who sealed a deal with the Algerian Ministry of Industry and the Promotion of Investments in October 2007 to erect a giant steel complex in the industrial zone of “ Belara”, 60 KMS east of the Jijel with a production capacity of 1.5 million tons pr year.
- The cost of the pharaoh project was estimated at $ 1.25 billion at the time.
- The project of the former influential figure at the Egyptian ruling party hit the headlines of the opposing Egyptian media, accusing the magnet of garnering staggering wealth and laundering his money through suspicious investments in Algeria.
- Echourok newspaper has also made public in several articles the shady practices followed by the man and shed light on his suspicious investments in Algeria that were just means to launder money stolen from the Egyptian people.
- The regular visits made by the Egyptian businessman to the free zone of “Belara” then, prompted the local authorities to release a statement denying the newspaper’s articles concerning the imaginary investments of the Egyptian businessman.
- Ahmed Eiz was under fire of the Egyptian media and some of members of the parliament who raised the impossibility of the realization of this project amid the financial crisis that undermined the world economy over the year 2008.
- Despite these warnings, the local authorities of the province of Jijel pressed the Egyptian businessman to start his project which was supposed to offer 3400 jobs to the local inhabitants.
- In an unexpected move, the Algerian authorities decided to cancel the project, that was scheduled to be erected over 200 hectares representing the half of the total industrial zone of Belara.