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European development bank starts donor-funded work in Egypt First project will help expansion of Fast Transport Group, an Egyptian-owned firm providing private transport in Alexandria and Cairo, says bank
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Tuesday it had started donor-funded activities in North Africa through a technical cooperation fund, ahead of plans to extend the development bank's mandate into North Africa. Its first operation is Alexandria, Egypt. More than 59 million euros in funds from donors including the European Union, European countries and the EBRD itself have been made available to invest in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, the EBRD said in a statement. The EBRD's 63 shareholders have agreed to invest money in the North African region, and the bank is looking to earmark up to 2.5 billion euros a year, but shareholders need first to ratify amendments to the bank's statutes. The EBRD was set up to support the transition of central and eastern European countries to market economies. "For the Bank to begin investing, countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region will need to demonstrate their commitment to and application of principles of multiparty democracy, pluralism and market economics, in accordance with the Bank's statutes," the EBRD said. The first donor-funded project that has been agreed will help Fast Transport Group, an Egyptian-owned small business that provides private transportation services in Alexandria, to expand services to Cairo and to improve its business model and management, the bank added.
