The Egyptian government’s spokesperson, Counsellor Mohamed El-Homsany, denied in a phone interview on the programme “Ala Mas’ouleyati”, broadcast on Sada El-Balad TV, that the state had sold its assets, referring here to the land of the city of Ras El-Hekma, located on the North Coast in Matrouh (north-west of Cairo).
He added that what is happening is a publicly announced deal consisting of direct investment, that it is not true that it is secret, and that “the Ras El-Hekma project represents a strong push for the government and the Egyptian economy to consider other major deals, as the current deal is a model for the deals that contribute to the desired urban plan”.
The government spokesperson added that the project will be carried out through an Egyptian joint-stock company subject to Egyptian laws, and that the state will monitor this company and its data will be held by the Egyptian financial regulatory bodies.
The cabinet, chaired by Dr Mostafa Madbouly, had approved at its meeting last Thursday what it called “the largest direct investment deal, through an investment partnership with major entities”, stressing that this major investment deal achieves the state’s development targets set by the National Strategic Plan for Urban Development, and pointing out that this deal is the start of several investment deals the government is currently working on to increase the state’s hard currency resources.
The prime minister announced its terms. According to what he said, the deal includes injecting USD 35 billion into the Egyptian treasury within two months of its announcement, in two payments: the first within a week, estimated at about USD 15 billion, of which USD 10 billion is cash liquidity and USD 5 billion a waiver of deposits at the central bank. The second payment is estimated at about USD 20 billion, to be paid within two months, of which USD 14 billion is cash liquidity and USD 6 billion a waiver of deposits.
Egypt will receive 35% of the profits of the project, which is planned on an area of 170.8 million square metres. It includes developing residential, tourism, entertainment, industrial and service projects, in addition to building a new international airport and a marina for yachts and cruise ships. The deal was concluded between the New Urban Communities Authority, representing the Cairo government, and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, representing the UAE government.
To follow more about the Ras El-Hekma story, you can read our previous report, “Ras El-Hekma Residents… We Will Confront the Sale of Our City“.
Ras Gamila on Its Way to Saudi Investment
The Saudi newspaper “Okaz” said on Sunday that the Egyptian government is preparing, in the coming period, to offer the development of the “Ras Gamila” area in Sharm El-Sheikh, which overlooks the Red Sea and faces the islands of Tiran and Sanafir (which the Egyptian authorities previously announced they were ceding to Saudi Arabia, despite a court ruling that they are Egyptian), to huge Saudi investments.
This comes after the success of the “Ras El-Hekma” deal, located in Matrouh, with Emirati investments, as part of the Egyptian government’s efforts to increase its hard currency resources and its plan to advance integrated urban development by 2052 to cope with population growth.
The development of “Ras Gamila”, which covers 860,000 feddans, comes with Saudi investments whose value has not yet been made clear, with the aim of putting it on the global tourism map, given its important geographical and strategic location, especially after it was included among the major Egyptian projects to develop the North Coast.
The newspaper pointed out that a government meeting is expected to announce the deal, perhaps during the government’s weekly meeting, chaired by Dr Mostafa Madbouly, expected at the end of this week.
Saudi Arabia’s offer to invest in the area is not new; its negotiations began in 2021, but the sweep of the coronavirus through Egypt and the world delayed the launch of the project.
There is agreement to build a number of large five-star hotels on 50% of the area, with residential and commercial projects to be built on the rest. The development of the area includes a hotel project on an area of 403,615 square metres and a 4-star hotel with a capacity of 844 rooms, in addition to 1,288 hotel apartments.
According to reports in local and regional newspapers, the investment offer is being negotiated between the Egyptian government and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. According to “Bloomberg”, the Egyptian government may retain ownership of about 20% of the vast land, which covers 180 million square metres, and this share will include a stake for Talaat Moustafa Group for real estate development and some Egyptian government bodies.
The Egyptian prime minister had announced on Friday that the Ras El-Hekma deal is the first in a series of major investment deals, stressing that the Egypt 2052 integrated urban development plan identified the North Coast region as the first promising region able to absorb the largest share of Egypt’s population growth given its potential, and that the plan aims to develop “integrated urban communities”, not “summer tourist resorts”. It identified Ras El-Hekma, El-Negaila, Sidi Barrani and Gargoub as new cities to be established, in addition to Matrouh and Sallum, which means there are more deals to come, and that Ras El-Hekma is only the beginning.
Parliament Approves Raising the Passport Fee to EGP 1,000
The House of Representatives on Sunday approved the bill submitted by the government to raise the fee for issuing a passport, by amending some provisions of Law No. 97 of 1959 on passports.
The bill amending the passport fee aims to raise it from EGP 250, as stipulated in the current law, to a maximum of EGP 1,000. The first article of the bill on raising passport issuance fees stipulates that the text of the first paragraph of Article 8 of the passports law be replaced with the following text: The form of the passport, its validity period, its specifications and the value of the fee collected for it shall be determined by a decision of the Minister of Interior with the approval of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, not exceeding one thousand pounds, in addition to the fees prescribed by other laws.
The article in the current law stipulates that the fee be doubled when a passport is requested to replace a lost or damaged one, and that everyone subject to the military and national service law must, when applying for a passport, submit proof of having performed military service or of exemption from it in accordance with the law.
18 Rights Organisations Condemn the Smear Campaign Against the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights
18 international and Egyptian rights organisations condemned the smear campaign the Egyptian authorities are waging against the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an independent organisation concerned with monitoring and documenting violations in North Sinai.
The organisations said in a joint statement: “This smear campaign comes in response to a report the Sinai Foundation published on 14 February 2024, including witness accounts, photos and videos showing the construction of a fortified security zone on Egypt’s border with Gaza and Israel.”
The statement added: “This campaign is an example of the repressive practices facing rights organisations and activists in Egypt, who are subjected to harassment, arrests and trials because of their human rights work.”
The organisations called on the Egyptian authorities to:
Stop the smear campaign against the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights.
Ensure the safety of Ahmed Salem, director of the Sinai Foundation, and his family.
Allow rights organisations and activists to work freely in Egypt.
Conduct an independent investigation into human rights violations in North Sinai.
The signatory organisations said that on 14 February 2024, the Sinai Foundation published a report based on witness accounts, photos and videos showing the rapid construction of a fortified security zone on Egypt’s border with Gaza and Israel in North Sinai, which it said was “aimed at receiving refugees from Gaza in the event of a mass displacement”, as a result of the armed conflict under way in Gaza. The report received wide coverage from major international news agencies and newspapers.
On 17 February 2024, a prominent pro-government television presenter who is a member of the “Supreme Council for Media Regulation” described Salem, on the pro-government “Ten TV”, as an agent linked to terrorist groups and the Israeli “Mossad”, in addition to other allegations made without evidence. The council plays a key role in government censorship and repression of independent efforts to report the news.
On 16 February, the official account on the “X” platform of the “Sinai Tribes Union”, the main militia supporting the Egyptian army in North Sinai, described the Sinai Foundation, without naming it, and independent reports as conspiratorial efforts “to pump poison against the Egyptian state”. Numerous pro-government pages on “Facebook” and X published photos of Salem accompanied by the same allegations.
An analysis by Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab of satellite images taken between 5 and 19 February shows land being cleared and levelled and a new wall being built.
The organisations that signed the statement said that, meanwhile, the Egyptian government coordinated a public relations campaign to deny news about camps being built for Palestinians in Sinai. On 16 February 2024, Egypt’s “State Information Service” denied in an official statement that the government was preparing to receive Palestinians in Sinai, and said such news “gives the impression, falsely promoted by some, that Egypt is taking part in the crime of displacement called for by some Israeli parties”.
Five Leaders of the Mahalla Spinning Workers Detained Following the Ongoing Strikes
The Revolutionary Socialists’ page on the social media site Facebook announced in a statement that five leaders of the striking Mahalla spinning workers had been held since the day before yesterday, Saturday, at the National Security headquarters, following the labour strikes launched by the women spinning workers, with whom the workers in the Mahalla factories have stood in solidarity since last Thursday.
According to the statement, the Egyptian security services summoned 200 other workers in an attempt to pressure them to end the strike. The workers are demanding the release of their colleagues, rejecting a circular from the management that grants some of their demands.
According to the circular, the management announced that starting from the March salary, a periodic 7% raise will be paid and added to the basic salary, along with a lump-sum bonus of 8% of the basic salary, with a minimum of EGP 150 for all the company’s employees.
Also, the minimum wage will be raised from four to six thousand pounds, with an increase for overtime hours, in addition to raising the tax exemption threshold from EGP 45,000 to EGP 60,000 a year for all the company’s employees, and postponing the deduction of tax arrears for February in view of the approach of Ramadan, with the remaining arrears paid in instalments over 14 months for employees and over 27 periods for workers, starting from next March.
Workers at the Spinning and Weaving Company in El-Mahalla El-Kubra had gone on strike after public business sector companies were excluded from the president’s decision to raise the minimum wage to six thousand pounds, in the face of rising prices and the economic crisis.
The Manpower Ministry Decides to Pay Compensation to the Victims of the Giza Ferry
Minister of Manpower Hassan Shehata directed the ministry’s irregular labour department to pay urgent aid to the victims of the Monshaat El-Qanater ferry accident in the north of Giza governorate, at EGP 200,000 for each person who died and EGP 20,000 for each injured person, from the accidents item the minister recently decided to create in the system for employing and protecting irregular workers.
A ferry at the village of Nekla in Monshaat El-Qanater, Giza, sank yesterday, Sunday, killing 10 workers, while five others survived; it emerged that they were from the governorates of Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza and Fayoum.
According to an official report, there were 15 ferry accidents over 15 years, from 2007 to 2020, an average of one accident a year, resulting in the deaths of at least 180 people (it is noticeable that a review of newspaper headlines over only the last ten years shows the number of accidents is greater than the official number mentioned, but there is no accurate official or unofficial count of that), while the “Daftar Ahwal” centre for research, archiving and documentation counted inland water transport accidents in Egypt between 2011 and 2016 at about 78 accidents, resulting in 83 deaths due to ferries alone. The number of ferries in Egypt is close to 9,500, more than 45 per cent of which are unlicensed and do not comply with standard specifications, and 70 per cent of their boatmen do not hold licences to practise the profession, according to the Center for Economic Studies.
We had published a report at Zawia3 monitoring river ferry accidents in Egypt, titled: Crossing to Death… Dilapidated Ferries and a Concrete Alternative.
German Non-Refundable Grants Worth EUR 80 Million to Support Development Projects
The Ministry of International Cooperation announced the Egyptian House of Representatives’ approval of non-refundable grants worth EUR 80.5 million from Germany and the European Investment Bank to implement a number of development projects in Egypt. The House approved Presidential Decree No. 612 of 2023 approving the financial cooperation agreement between the governments of Egypt and Germany worth EUR 80 million, to finance the National Solid Waste Management Programme, financial support for the comprehensive technical education initiative, and risk management mechanisms.
Under the agreement, Germany, through the German development bank KfW, provides non-refundable financial contributions worth EUR 80 million, divided into EUR 28 million to strengthen risk management mechanisms and credit guarantee mechanisms that match the financing needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, and EUR 32 million for the comprehensive technical education initiative in Egypt, in addition to EUR 20 million for the Ministry of Environment’s National Solid Waste Management Programme in four target governorates: Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbia, Qena and Assiut.
Also, the development cooperation portfolio between Egypt and Germany recorded about EUR 1.6 billion, through which 30 projects were financed in the form of loans, technical support grants and financial contributions, while the current development portfolio with the European Investment Bank recorded nearly EUR 3.5 billion, including many financing instruments through concessional loans, grants, technical support and development grants, for a total of 16 projects contributing to supporting development projects in various sectors.
