2 days ago
Qatar expected to invest $4bln in Egypt tourism project: report
Qatar is expected to pump nearly $4 billion into a major tourism project involving resorts and luxury houses on the Northwestern Egyptian Mediterranean coast, a Saudi news website reported on Monday.
The project is located in Ras Alam El-Rum town and will span an area of around 240,000 square metres, the Arabic language site Asharq said.
It quoted two unidentified Egyptian government officials as saying Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf country's sovereign wealth fund, will fund the project which includes resorts, luxury houses, shopping malls, yacht marina and other facilities.
The report said the development is similar to Ras Al-Hekma project, which is undertaken by ADQ, the Abu Dhabi investment holding company.
ADQ said last year it would pump $35 billion into the project on the Northern Egyptian coast, making it the largest foreign investment in the Arab nation.
Phase 1 of the QIA project includes the operation of 20-25 percent of its area, the report said, adding that Egypt's government will be entitled for 15 percent of the revenues.
'Measures are under way to allocate the land for the project and issue the necessary licenses…it will be announced this year in case the negotiations between the two sides are successful,' it said.
The reported project coincides with an intensified drive by Cairo to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to stimulate its economy and tackle debt and fiscal deficits.
Officials have said the target is to receive $42 billion FDI during the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which started on 1 July.
In a report last week, the US-based Institute of International Finance (IIF) urged Egypt to speed up privatisation and reform of public enterprises to ensure continued support by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Gulf oil producers.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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