Egypt Increases Spending on Development Projects in Sinai

Osama El-Ghandour, Secretary General of the North Sinai Governorate, has emphasized that the Egyptian government has increased spending on development projects in Sinai.

According to the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), El-Ghandour revealed that the government has initiated several projects in the North Sinai Governorate, including the construction of a seawater desalination plant with a capacity of up to 300,000 cubic meters per day and a cost of $97 million, in addition to ten major development clusters have been recently inaugurated in the Al-Hasana and Nakhal centers.

In the same context, El-Ghandour explained that the development cluster projects include handing over 5 acres and a house to beneficiaries. "The cost of which is estimated at 800 thousand pounds, with the first installment being paid upon receipt of the unit at a value of 10%, followed by another 10% after 4 years of delivery."

He continued: "The rest of the amount is to be paid in long installments over 20 years. The beneficiaries have also been trained through the Desert Research Center to familiarize them with crop combinations that suit the climate and soil in North Sinai and planting dates."

El-Ghandour also mentioned that the country has drilled 131 irrigation wells to serve agricultural development cluster projects. "The value of the support provided by the state for new agricultural development clusters amounts to one million and 200 thousand pounds for each agricultural unit, out of the total cost of drilling and operating the wells,"  he said.