Modest dreams
Already a popular tourist destination, Egypt's southernmost governorate is looking for even more of a boost from Toshka, peace in Sudan, and a slew of infrastructure improvements. Fatemah Farag talks to Aswan Governor Samir Youssef
Samir
Youssef
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In Aswan, the Nile is a pristine blue, the sails on the feluccas are bright white, and the palm trees cast proud and glorious shadows on the horizon. Home to ancient marvels like the temples of Abu Simbel, and modern monuments such as the High Dam, this most southern of Egyptian governorates has long shared Upper Egypt's underdeveloped plight, despite also being the country's main trade gateway with Sudan.
Aswan Governor Samir Youssef, however, has good news to report. "I can confirm," he told Al-Ahram Weekly, "that this year, compared to the past few years, Aswan has begun to receive an unprecedented number of tourists. They started coming in August, which confused me: 'Why are they coming in the heat?' I wondered. But they were, and in large numbers."
According to the Aswan Governorate, 95,745 tourists visited Aswan in August and September 2003, compared with 58,712 for the same months last year.
Encouraged by the boost, Youssef also sees much that needs to be developed vis-à-vis what the govnernorate offers tourists. "So far we focus on temples and museums. But we must extend our vision to include safaris, fishing, and therapeutic tourism. I have already started organising fishing competitions in Lake Nasser. (see Travel Supplement) I have handed the Abu Simbel area over to the Tourism Development Authority (TDA). Aswan's potential is still under- utilised."
The governor is also heavily preoccupied with developing the city's infrastructure to take advantage of economic opportunities created by both peace in the Sudan and the development of Toshka. "With relations between Egypt and Sudan improving, we are determined to develop Aswan's port to absorb the resulting increase in trade."
The port was built in the sixties along with the High Dam. According to Youssef, however, "it has not been upgraded since then, despite the fact that there is a lot of trade between Egypt and Sudan. We are currently upgrading the port internally, and this should be done by the end of the year."
The governor is also pinning much of his hopes on the major Toshka desert development project. "In Toshka and other desert areas," he said, "land is being reclaimed. In Abu Simbel, I established a settlement: every family got a house and five feddans to reclaim. And I was very pleased when I went out recently and saw that farmers had set up little straw huts in the middle of their land. This shows they are feeling at home as they work. After all, farmers who are busy all day cultivating their land need to rest during the hottest hours of the afternoon. I am hopeful that communities like this one will develop elsewhere, wherever reclamation is going on."
To complete the picture, new roads and bridges are essential. "The new Aswan Bridge has not only relieved traffic from across the Aswan Dam, it has also linked the west and east banks of the river. You have no idea how important that is for people on the west bank, who have long felt ostracised by the city. Before, the closest bridge was at Edfu, which is 130 km away."
Perhaps more importantly, the governor said, "the bridge constitutes an important element in the trade route linking Toshka with the new Aswan-Bernice highway (on the Red Sea). The bridge is strategic in this sense, and to improve it, I also have plans for a ring road around the city."
The river itself is also set to provide a boost to the governorate's plans once the national project to expand Nile transport by deepening the Nile's channel is complete.
Youssef emphasised that Lake Nasser -- which produces 25,000 tonnes of fish a year, and is home to 30 per cent of national sugar production as well as sugar-related industries like perfume, paper and plywood -- is also part of the Aswan Governorate. "We also have great mining potential. Phosphate is currently being mined here, and I hope that other extractive industries will come to realise the governorate's potential."
When pressed about the governorate's role in the development and marketing of such potential, Youssef said his job "as governor is to set up the governorate with a comprehensive vision. This vision, however, should be implemented via the private sector, much as it is being done in Alexandria." He admitted, however, that it might not be that simple. "Alexandrian businessmen are rich. In Aswan, they are not as strong. I do not shy away from actively seeking investments. But as of yet, the area's businessmen are neither as experienced or diversified as those in Alexandria or Cairo, so progress has been slower than I would like. If we could only utilise what the governorate has to offer more efficiently, Aswan could be even more beautiful than Cairo."
