Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said on Wednesday that more than $3 billion in total is dedicated to the development of the Sinai Peninsula through Arab funds.
Al-Mashat was addressing the plenary session of the House of Representatives, chaired by Hanafi Gebaly, the International Cooperation Ministry said in a statement.
Al-Mashat added that the ministry is implementing an ambitious development program in Sinai, which is being implemented in partnership with several financing institutions (the Saudi Fund for Development, the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development) with a value of over $3 billion; it is allocated to a perse portfolio of sectors including transportation and infrastructure, higher education and scientific research, agricultural development, community development, irrigation, and water resources.
The minister explained that allocation of development financing is as follows: 49% for housing and utilities, 24% for transportation and transportation, 11% for higher education and scientific research, 10% for agriculture and land reclamation, 5% for local development, and 2% for irrigation
The program will also provide services to 558,000 citizens, establish 2,600 new homes, reclaim, cultivate 18,000 feddans and unlock 20,000 job opportunities. Additionally, more than 150 villages in the Sinai Peninsula benefit from the program’s projects, which also targets inclusive growth through providing job opportunities for youth and achieving food security for Sinai’s residents.
In 2020, Al-Mashat stated that the ministry deepened its cooperation and negotiation with development partners, and this succeeded in securing development financing worth $754.4 million to support Bedouin communities in Sinai and build resilient, safe, and culturally inspiring living conditions; by developing various projects focused on water treatment and wastewater management, infrastructure development, and education.
To invest in the potential of Bedouin communities and increase agricultural activity in 2020, the water desalination plant for Eastern Port Said, Bahr El Baqar water drainage system is funded with a value of $183 million by the Kuwait Fund for Development and $244.16 million from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and has a production capacity of 150,000 cubic meters and can be increased to 250,000 cubic meters a day.
The Bahr El-Baqar drainage water drainage system also has a capacity of 5 million cubic meters a day and can reclaim 400,000 acres of the Sinai Peninsula.
The ministry and the Kuwait Fund for Development also agreed to provide $18 million for the construction of two seawater desalination plants in the new city of Rafah and the new city of Bir al-Abd, in addition to $168.4 million for road infrastructure projects, with $ 85.9 million dedicated to the completion of the Tunnel Road, Sharm El-Sheikh, and $82.51 million for the project to complete the Transverse Road 4.
To build the capacity and skills of communities in Sinai, the Saudi Fund for Development provides development funding worth $140.8 million for the completion of the King Salman University project in the Sinai Peninsula, which seeks to provide access to quality education for all and achieve an inclusive, equitable economy.
The new funding contributes to the completion of construction work for the first phase of seven colleges and the construction of three new colleges in engineering and computer science in the city of Al-Tur, as well as in art and design, and architecture in Sharm El-Sheikh, bringing the total number of colleges to 10 colleges holding 12.3 thousand students.
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