Egypt has signed a loan agreement with Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) worth US$98.6mn for building five seawater desalination plants in Sinai
Egypt?s minister of international cooperation Sahar Nasr said that the loan would be repaid over 25 years with a five-year grace period and a two per cent interest rate.
The loan is reportedly part of a financing package totalling US$900mn offered by the Kuwaiti fund to develop projects in Sinai.
According to KFAED director general Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader, the project will begin early next year and is expected to be completed before the end of 2019.
One of the plants will produce 20,000 cu/m per day, while the other four plants will produce 10,000 cu/m per day in Ras Sidr, Abu Zenimah, Dahab, and Nuweiba.
The Egyptian government wants to raise the standard of living for citizens in Sinai through the implementation of several development and service projects in the framework of the Sinai Peninsula development programme, including hospitals and schools, according to report.
According to ministry, in January this year, a group of Gulf investors offered funds estimated at US$6bn for the development of Sinai, of which US$1.5bn would be provided by Saudi Arabia.
