Arab finance funds to support Egypt’s Sinai development plan

CAIRO – 10 April 2018: Four Arab finance funds will support Egypt’s plans for developing Sinai, providing the needed financing for the projects in the peninsula, a statement from the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation said on Tuesday.

This came during a meeting between Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and the heads of the four Arab funds, on the sidelines of the joint meeting of Arab Financial Institutions, held in Jordan.

The funds expressed their keenness to offer all the needed support for the development projects in Sinai, which plays a pivotal role in Egyptian and Arab national security.

Nasr and the funds’ heads agreed on accelerating and intensifying development works in Sinai, with Nasr saying that the coming period will see an accelerated implementation for all projects in Sinai and the launch of a new bundle of projects.

During the meeting, Nasr presented a number of new projects in the fields of health, education and housing, in which the Arab funds can participate.

Egypt has put forward a plan to develop Sinai, which started in 2014 and will continue until 2022, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said in February. He said that the cost of Sinai development will reach LE 275 billion.

Last month, Nasr signed five agreements 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) to finance Sinai development.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has also allocated $3 billion over three years for its new cooperation strategy with Egypt (2018-2020), which will support a number of development projects in Egypt.

During a meeting between Nasr and President of the IsDB Group Bandar Hajjar last week, both sides discussed supporting a number of projects in Sinai, particularly a water desalination project.