Egypt is working on infrastructure at the Suez Canal Economic Zone that will allow industry investing in the area to start production by 2020, the head of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone told Reuters in an interview.

Egypt is developing an area of 460 sq km around the Suez Canal, the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, into an industrial and trade hub in the hope of attracting billions of dollars in investment to help Egypt emerge from an economic crisis.

"We aim to have, by 2020, infrastructure that allows the start of production (for industries)," said Ahmed Darwish, speaking from a banking conference in the resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

"I'm talking about infrastructure that allows industries to produce, not completing the infrastructure of the whole project," he said.

Darwish said he would start an investment campaign at the end of March to attract potential investors from Japan, France, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt is also due to receive delegations from Italy, the UK, Malaysia and the African Development Bank, among others, this month in order to explore opportunities in the economic zone, Darwish said.

Egypt has been struggling to recover after a mass uprising in 2011 that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak drove tourists and investors away - major sources of hard currency.

Its reserves fell from around $36 billion in 2011 to around $16.4 billion in December.

Darwish said he aimed to complete the legal, regulatory, investment and financial framework within the body this year.

The Suez Canal Economic Zone comprises six ports, including Ein Soukhna Port and West Port Said Port and East Port Said Port. It could also include a 2 million sq m Russian Industrial zone. – Reuters