By: Mostafa Adel
Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt has been negotiating with Saudi Arabia over the second instalment of the sum allocated to the development of Sinai, according to two government sources.
They added that the second instalment amounts to $150 million (EGP 1.33 billion).
Negotiations for the first instalment are over, one of the sources told Mubasher, adding that Egypt will receive the sum once the areas for spending the first installment have been determined.
The first instalment was received at the end of August.
The second instalment will arrive in few weeks, and will have a limited but positive impact on Egypt’s monetary, another source told Mubasher.
On 28 August, Egypt received $300 million (EGP 2.65 billion) from Saudi Arabia as a first instalment to finance projects in the Sinai Peninsula, according to sources in the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The total value of agreements signed with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during his visit to Cairo amounts to $25 billion, the minister of international cooperation, Sahr Nasr, stated earlier.
The minister added that the $25-billion agreements include $1.7 billion for development projects in Sinai with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
“Around $100 million will be allocated to establish a power plant in west Cairo, added to $200 million as a grant and $120 million to develop Kasr El Aini Hospital,” Nasr said in a press release.
The deal includes establishing King Salman university in Sinai, King Salman bin Abdel Aziz land bridge to connect the two countries, and SAR 60 billion ($16 billion) to establish an investment fund.
Translated by: Sara Ghali
