Egypt, UAE sign landmark deal worth $35b

Cairo gets first payment worth $15b

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli witnessed yesterday the signing ceremony of Egypt’s largest investment deal with leading world entities at the Council of Ministers headquarters in the New Administrative Capital (NAC).

Madbouli told a press conference on Friday that the deal would develop Ras El-Hikma in the North Coast, labelling it as “The largest foreign direct investment deal in Egypt’s history.”

Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Assem el-Gazzar, and Mohamed Alsuwaidi, UAE’s Minister of Investment and Managing Director and CEO of Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, signed the deal.

The prime minister thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates, for sponsoring the Ras El-Hikma development project.

Madbouli has unveiled that the Ras El-Hikma development project is expected to generate $150 billion for Egypt over the duration of the project, noting that direct foreign investments from the project would reach $35 billion within two months, comprising a first payment worth $15 billion and another worth $20 billion.

Egypt will get a 35 per cent share in the project’s profits, Madbouli said.

Dollar inflows

Egypt is expected to gain billions of US dollars in returns from the new project thanks to growing foreign direct investment (FDI), which contributes to the growth of foreign exchange inflows.

Such inflows will help soothe the nation’s hard currency crisis and would stabilise the exchange rate on the domestic market.

The area offered for investment in Ras El-Hikma city totals about 11.5 million square meters to launch integrated tourism projects on the North Coast.

North Coast development

As part of the state’s quest for socioeconomic development, the government announced a comprehensive plan for developing the North Coast.

The new project is planned to create jobs for millions of Egyptian youth banking on the area’s untapped potentials.

Ras El-Hikma project will be a landmark joint venture between the public and private sectors to place the North Coast on the global tourism map within the Egyptian Development Plan 2052.

Ras El-Hikma beaches extend from the Dabaa area at Kilometre 170 to Kilometre 220 in Matrouh City on the North West Coast Road.

The area is rich in a variety of attractions for beach tourism on the North Coast for about 400km from west of Alexandria stretching to Egypt’s western borders, extending about 90km from west of Alexandria to El Alamein, and from El-Alamein to Ras El-Hikma for about 130km.