Army’s statement gives details on Sinai comprehensive development plan

CAIRO – 26 February 2018: During President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s inauguration of the Unified Command of East of the Canal To Combat Terrorism held on Sunday, Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid provided details about the comprehensive development plan in Sinai, according to the army’s statement.

Sisi was briefed on the forces and the command’s facilities before visiting the East of the Canal Command's headquarters, where tactics for the Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 are planned.

During the visit, Farid provided details about the planning and implementing measures of the operation with its results over the past 16 days to uproot terrorism from Sinai and to impose security control over land and coastal boundary as well as hubs where weapons and ammunition are supplied and smuggled to terrorists.

He also referred to the cooperation between the armed forces and police to eliminate terrorism from Northern Sinai. He added that the operation has been implemented upon two phases; the first determined the strategic targets and trained the forces in basic field and fighting skills to confront terrorism in cooperation with police.

In this regard, he praised the efforts exerted by the Armed Forces and police for defending their country and combating terrorism as well as Sinai’s citizens for their cooperation with them, saluting those who sacrifice themselves for the nation.

He added that the Armed Forced coordinated with all the country’s institutions to provide social and health insurance by supplying them with ambulances and logistic services and facilities along with providing financial compensations and exceptional pensions to Northern Sinai citizens to reduce any negative effect of the operations.

Farid submitted a report on the operation’s results, stressing that it is implemented not only in Northern Sinai but from the Suez Canal to the eastern borders of Sinai, and the armed forces have achieved great success in it.

He further explained that Armed Forces have distributed food supplies: 615 tons of food commodities through National Service Products Organization, around 450 tons of wheat, 1120 supplementary general food rations estimated as 5,000 food rations daily, 9,600 gas cylinders, and 35,000 liter of petrol.

As for the medical services, Farid added that 13 tons of medical liquid oxygen and 72 doctors were provided for hospitals especially in Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid and medications and vaccines were distributed. Additionally, two hospitals in Central Sinai were constructed.

In addition, 1,529 university students were transmitted from Sinai’s university to other universities across Egypt along with facilitating the legal measures for the citizens.
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali el-Moselhi said that the six supply administrations and 228 supply shops are provided for 444,000 Northern Sinai citizens in conjunction with the military operations, referring that 72 percent of the citizens have supply cards.

Furthermore, Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly said that the ministry has coordinated with 15 major civil organizations in Northern Sinai to financially support the citizens.

The Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouly referred to the national project aiming to develop Sinai and to attract local and international investments to Sinai based on Sisi’s directives and to Sinai’s 2052 territorial development plan, confirming that roads, archaeological sites and natural reserves in Sinai have been developed as a part of the plan.

Chairman of the Armed Forces Engineering Authorities Kamel al-Wazir reviewed several national projects implemented within the framework of Sinai comprehensive development plan, including establishing fish farms, industrial regions, Bardawil Airport in central Sinai, 15 hospitals and 8,000 housing units along with upgrading nine hospitals.

President Sisi affirmed that the comprehensive development for Sinai started in 2014 and will last until 2022, with a cost at LE 275 billion ($15.5 billion) as he has called on Egyptian businessmen to invest in Sinai as the area is Egypt’s primary security issue.