Egypt, Kuwait sign 5 agreements to finance Sinai development

CAIRO – 14 March 2018: Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed five agreements Tuesday with Kuwait Fund for Development General Director Abdel Wahab al-Badr, with a total value of KWD 86.1 million ($287 million/LE 5 billion), within the framework of developing Sinai.

The value of the first agreement is KWD 60 million to contribute in financing the Sharm el-Sheikh tunnel project, as part of the government's program for developing Sinai.

The second agreement is worth KWD 17.5 million, which is allocated to contribute to financing the “Road 4” project, with the aim of improving transport movement inside Sinai.

Some KWD 500,000 are allocated for the third agreement in order to support the second phase of the activities of the Center for Strategic Documents, which is affiliated to the Information and Decision Support Center of the Cabinet, and documents economic and social reform programs in Egypt.

The value of the fourth agreement is KWD 100,000 as a grant to support the feasibility study of the date palm cultivation and date processing project in Egypt.

The fifth agreement came as a modification of a control and signal system project on the Banha – Zagazig – Ismailia and Port Said railway line, to use the surplus of the Kuwaiti fund, which amounts to KWD 7 million, to support the transport system and finance 100 new tractors for the Egyptian Railway Authority.

The length of the Banha – Zagazig – Ismailia and Port Said railway line is 213 kilometers. The Kuwait Fund and the Arab Fund for Development financed the control and signal system project with $160 million.

Kuwait Fund General Director Badr pointed out that the fund has financed about 45 projects in Egypt in the fields of electricity, transport, industry, drinking water and sanitation by about $2.8 billion, in addition to grants and technical support of about $13.5 million.

On March 5, Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations (EFIA) Chairman Farid Khamis donated LE 20 million for developing Sinai.

The LE 20 million check is the first tranche of a donation worth LE 100 million, to be paid within a year.