WATANI International
5 April 2009
Agro-industry
Egypt is looking to raise EGP66 billion worth of investments for its agro-industrial zones project until 2020, the head of the Industrial Development Authority, (IDA) Amr Assal said, with the aim of setting up 470 factories. Projects will span a variety of agricultural industries including rice, wheat, dried and frozen vegetables, edible oils, poultry and juices. The agro-industrial zones will potentially span an area of 1.3million feddans across the country once completed and will be developed as part of the public private partnership programme. Products from the zone will be for both local consumption and for export.
The IDA is holding a workshop this month with various interested investors. “So far we’ve had around 30 Egyptian investors and others from Saudi Arabia who are keen to take part,” Assal said. Two to three months after the workshop, a tender will be held to sell plots for projects within the agro-industrial zones. Some 220,000 feddans will be tendered in Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt, and another 100,000 feddans in Wadi Natrun in the Western Desert. Other locations to be offered later are scattered around Sinai, Minya, Assiut, and Toshka.
Oil Facilities
Egypt and Libya will jointly invest $6 billion in a new refinery, expanding another and building 500 gas stations, the Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy said. The new refinery will process 250,000 barrels of oil a day. Libya also agreed to set up a new facility in Assiut to produce lighter crude products out of fuel oil. Egypt has the largest refining industry in Africa with nine refineries that have a combined crude processing capacity of 726,000 barrels a day.
Egyptian-Japanese university
An agreement has been signed by Egypt and Japan to establish a university for science and technology at Burg al-Arab, 70km southwest Alexandria. Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga said that the agreement was the fruit of five years of negotiations, and will be the first university to be established by Japan outside its borders. Classes are expected to open in September 2009. Egypt and Japan are currently negotiating a $170 million grant by the Japanese side to furnish the university with equipment, laboratories, technical assistance and training, and upgrading and development programmes. Egypt will contribute EGP318 million to the project, in addition to a 200 feddan plot of land and the buildings and infrastructure.
New visa centre
WorldBridge Service and the British Embassy in Cairo have announced a move of the UK Visa Application Centre to new offices on the first floor of Aboul Feda Building, Abul Feda Street, Zamalek. The British Embassy said that: “Our new offices are larger and will enable us to offer a variety of services in addition to simply processing visa applications. The services will include standalone computers linked to the (Visa4UK) website, photocopying documents, passport photographs, and business class suite.
Commonwealth cemetery
The Commonwealth cemetery in Luxor, which holds the mortal remains of more than 140 persons, will be moved from its site in the town to a new one in new Thebes. The cemetery is situated on a spot which lies within the grounds of the famous Tareeq al-Kibash (Ram Road), the ancient avenue lined with statues of rams, which runs between Luxor and Karnak temples. Since Luxor town council is currently excavating the full avenue—only a small portion leading to the edifice of Karnak temple had been above ground—it is necessary to relocate buildings which interfere with unearthing the entire avenue of the rams.
Comments
comments