 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Budding projects
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak visited on Sunday land reclamation projects at East Oweinat, in the southern part of the Western Desert. The president toured undertakings run by large developers of the private sector.
East Oweinat is a 500,000-feddan area, 320,000 feddans of which are earmarked for plans funded by the private sector. The government only footed a LE60 million bill for constructing the main roads in the area, as well as an armed forces plot, which will be sold to private owners once the projects take off.
Since 1981, 1.8 million feddans of land have been reclaimed. The president noted that laws are in place to facilitate procedures for investors. "We remove obstacles as soon as they arise in order to make Egypt as investor-friendly as possible," he said. "We don't want any problems in this field, especially in industrial zones where the land is granted for free."
Taking the president on the guided tour were the prime minister, the ministers of agriculture, defence, information, transport, interior and electricity, as well as the minister of public works and water resources.
"Products will be cultivated mainly for export," said Minister of Agriculture Youssef Wali. Wali noted the fertility of the soil at East Oweinat, adding that fruit and vegetable crops will be irrigated by abundant subterranean water.
Photo: Muhamed Abdel-Fattah
