Sisi discusses challenges of floatation during Damietta visit

CAIRO - 23 May 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi admitted the painful consequences of the floatation of the Egyptian pound, saying that Egypt is better now, during his visit to Damietta Furniture City, north of Cairo, on Tuesday.

“When we took the flotation decision, we knew the difficult consequences on Egyptians, but we also knew it will give Egypt a real chance to increase exports,” Sisi said in his speech to the attendees of the new city’s inauguration which took place on Tuesday.

On November 3, 2016, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) floated the Egyptian pound, as part of the government’s broader efforts to reform the business and investment climate in Egypt to attract much-needed investments to the country, which resulted in the inflation rates reaching 32.06 percent in April 2017.

President Sisi inaugurated the first phase of Damietta Furniture City on Tuesday. The city will be established on a 331 feddans (1 feddan = 1.038 acres) plot and is expected to produce 25,000 job opportunities as well as another 40,000 jobs indirectly.

The project aims at developing the industry of furniture by using modern technology. The estimated cost of the Damietta Furniture City project ranges between LE 4.5 to LE 5 billion.