‘Golden Triangle’ project targets $16.5B total investments

CAIRO – 6 April 2017: The Egyptian government is targeting total investments worth $16.5 billion within 30 years with the Golden Triangle Project, according to a Wednesday Cabinet statement.

The Golden Triangle Project in Upper Egypt is one of the country’s mega-projects. It will include businesses in different areas: mining, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, solar energy and water desalination.

The Cabinet met Wednesday to review the latest developments regarding the establishment of the Golden Triangle Economic Zone General Authority, which was recently approved, the statement added.

"The new body will act as an independent economic entity managing all activities, human and natural resources in this vital zone," the statement read.

“The project is important and strategic. It aims to lure more domestic and foreign investments to utilize the massive natural resources in the region,” Prime Minister Sherif Ismail was quoted as saying in the statement.

Ismail ordered the establishment of a temporary headquarters for the new authority in Qena governorate, along with allocating money for operating and executing phase-one projects.

The project is expected to provide 35,000 direct jobs and around 1 million indirect jobs, an advisor to the minister of trade and industry and head of Golden Triangle Committee Yasser El-Maghraby said at a press conference following the meeting at the Cabinet.

He added that preliminary studies for the projects have already started with $3.5 million in financing for the feasibility study from the Kuwaiti Fund for Development.