Southern Upper Egypt allocates LE 13B of Egypt’s investment plan

CAIRO – 16 August 2018: Egypt directed the largest proportion of government investments during fiscal year 2018/2019 to the southern Upper Egypt region, recording 51 percent or LE 13 billion of the investments, Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed said.

The southern Upper Egypt region includes five governorates: the Red Sea, Sohag, Qena, Luxor and Aswan.

Saeed clarified that about LE 2.245 billion of these investments are allocated to the Red Sea governorate.

This came during Saeed’s meeting with the governor of the Red Sea Ahmed Abdallah to discuss the necessary mechanisms for achieving integrated development in the governorate as well as discussing the investments earmarked for the governorate during current financial plan 2018/2019.

She pointed out that the medium-term sustainable development plan aims to complete a number of projects in the governorate concerning water projects, noting that the plan includes the completion of the desalination plant in Hurghada and the start of two desalination plants in Zafarana and Ras Ghareb as well as the desalination plant in Safaga.

She also referred that the government investments directed to the water sector in the current fiscal year amounted to LE 207 million of the total investments directed to the province, besides LE 117 million that were allocated to the sanitation sector in addition to transport projects which were targeted with total government investments that amounted to LE 579 million.

The minister added that the projects of the transport sector include completion of doubling roads of Safaga, Qusair, Marsa Alam and paving roads in Hurghada, Safaga, Halaib and Marsa Alam.

She further pointed to the area of land and projects proposed for tourism investment during the year 18/2019 in the Red Sea governorate which represents about 34.2 million square meters, providing about 26 investment opportunities in the region.

For his part, the governor said that the number of tourists to the province recorded 507,000 during July, stressing the keenness to maintain the pursuit of full development and upgrading the Red Sea and the city of Hurghada.

He said that there is an intention to establish a new tourist city between the cities of Hurghada and Safaga to extend from south of Hurghada and even the port of Safaga.

Planning minister said earlier that Egypt directed around LE 26 billion of the government’s investments in the new fiscal year 2018/2019 to develop Upper Egypt’s governorates.

The minister added that about LE 3 billion are directed to develop North and South of Sinai governorates.