Groundbreaking ceremony to establish youth center in Al-Rawdah village

CAIRO - 23 November 2018: The Governor of North Sinai, General Mohamed Abdul Fadel Shousha, the Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Mohammad Mukhtar Juma, and a number of religious figures and businessmen celebrated on Friday the groundbreaking ceremony of establishing a youth center in Al-Rawdah village.

Al-Rawdah village in the Sinai town of Bir Al-Abed, has witnessed a comprehensive development operation in many sectors after the following the terrorist attack that took place in the village last year.

The Housing and Development Authority, Al Azhar mosque, Al Awqaf ministry, and many other initiatives to reconstruct need villages have participated in the reconstruction of 792 houses at Al-Rawdah village.

The state had set a plan to develop North Sinai governorate, starting from Bir al-Abed City. The city’s Mayor Nasrallah Mohamed Nasrallah revealed to Egypt Today the updates on prospective projects at the beginning of 2018.

Establishing a Community Development Corporation (CDC)

The Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations agreed on founding a CDC to serve the city and surrounding villages through donations by Bir al-Abed residents. The decision was made few days after a delegation of investors in the federation visited the city earlier in January.

CDCs usually focus on the activities concerned with economic development, education, community organizing, and real estate development in a specific geographic area.

New Bir al-Abed City

The committees in charge of conducting land surveys in order to build the New Bir al-Abed city, stretching on 190 feddans (194,750 acres) northern the current city, will start work by the end of this month. The first phase of the New Bir al-Abed City consists of 5,000 residential units, green areas, and all necessary facilities.

The New Bir al-Abed Hospital

The new four-storey hospital building will be inaugurated soon after receiving all equipment. It had cost LE180 million and consists of 82 beds, eight intensive care units, four operating rooms, an incubator for newborns, outpatient departments, and two dozens of departments. Many roads around the building have been paved and connected to other roads to facilitate reaching the hospital.

The total area of Bir al-Abed City and the 24 surrounding villages is 3,857 square kilometers encompassing 91,876 residents, and extending from Port Said and Ismailiya governorates in the west to Arish city in the east bordering the Mediterranean in the North and Al-Hasana city and surrounding villages in the South.

Bir al-Abed is one of the cities of North Sinai, North East Egypt, that has been repeatedly targeted by terrorist groups. The fact that Bir al-Abed has been hit over and over again by terrorists has encouraged the Government to develop the area.

President Sisi directed the Government in late November to prepare a sweeping plan for developing Bir al-Abed, within which Al-Rawda mosque, which was brutally attacked by terroristic militants, is located.

The Government is directing LE 1.89 billion in investments to the North Sinai Governorate during fiscal year 2017/18, Minister of Planning, Hala al-Said, announced.
Egyptian Federation of Investors Association (EFIA) announced earlier in December the establishment of a new holding company for development in Sinai, particularly in Bir al-Abed.
Additional reporting by Imsail Refaat