Egypt's Minister of Housing Tarek Wafik said on Wednesday that the government intends to draft a new law to regulate the activities of the Suez Canal so that it becomes a logistic and industrial hub.

The new law will make the canal's management more efficient and thus encourage investment, Wafik said in a statement reported by the state agency.

Egypt is striving to develop the Suez Canal to attract international investors in attempts to recover its economy that was negatively affected by last year's popular uprising to topple Hosni Mubarak.

The minister discussed on Wednesday the draft law with former Prime Minister and project consultant, Essam Sharaf, and other experts.