Egypt’s Sinai project costs $1.5 bln: minister

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20, (KUNA): Visiting Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr has said that the total costs of the Sinai Peninsula reach $1.5 billion. It includes several projects, in various sectors, such as education, health and agriculture.

Nasr made the statement to reports after a meeting with the Arab funds and institutions for financing the Sinai promising project.

She noted that her visit to Kuwait aimed to coordinate efforts with the funds to seek solutions to arrange financing for the project.

On the loan agreement signed between Egypt and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) today, Nasr said that they had agreed to lower the interest rate from 3 to only percent, and a fiveyear grace period, considering Egypt’s current economic conditions.

The Egyptian Minister and AFESD Board Chairman and General Director Abdlatif Yousef Al-Hamad signed the KD 45 million (approximately $174.4 million) loan agreement to fund a sewage project in the Giza Governorate.

She noted that AFESD would offer several loans totaling $1 billion over three years. Interest rate will differ according to the nature of each project.

Al-Hamad told reporters that AFESD had financed around 60 projects in Egypt with KD 1.6 billion over the past years. He pointed to future projects in the country covering electricity and the sewage sectors.

For his part, Director General of OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Sulaiman Al-Harbash highlighted Kuwait’s economic, social and development support for the developing countries. Kuwaiti is a founder of the OPEC.