Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad has directed officials to swiftly finalise a comprehensive investment map for Egypt’s protected areas in South Sinai and the Red Sea, reaffirming the government’s commitment to environmentally sustainable investment that safeguards the country’s natural heritage.
Chairing an expanded session of the Permanent Technical Committee for Investment in Nature Reserves — recently reconstituted to review applications for economic activity within protected areas — Minister Awad underscored the need to streamline approval procedures for investment projects, ensuring full alignment with each reserve’s management plan.
The meeting examined potential investment opportunities across the Petrified Forest, Saint Catherine, Nabq, Ras Mohamed, and White Desert protected areas. The Minister stressed that every project put forward for investment would be subject to rigorous environmental standards, robust oversight mechanisms, and ongoing monitoring, ensuring full regulatory compliance and the long-term preservation of natural resources.
Awad instructed her team to complete, at the earliest opportunity, a detailed investment map covering the protected areas of South Sinai and the Red Sea. The initiative is designed to deliver a clear, comprehensive vision — identifying viable investment opportunities, suitable investment models, and projects that can move forward without compromising these reserves’ ecological integrity.
The Minister further called on committee members to accelerate the review and processing of investment proposals for activities planned within protected areas, urging the establishment of clear timelines for investors to submit financial and technical bids, along with the requisite Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies — while ensuring all procedural and regulatory requirements are fully satisfied before final decisions are issued.
