The Council of Ministers convened Tuesday to discuss a comprehensive development plan for the North Sinai province. The plan aims to encourage investment in the province with a view to both creating job opportunities and improving living standards for local residents. According to council spokesman Magdi Radi, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif ordered the immediate implementation of the plan following a recent visit to North Sinai, where he witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by recent torrential rains and floods. Nazif reportedly asked provincial authorities to begin carrying out development projects in the fields of agriculture, industry and tourism. Radi also said that the Transport Ministry would immediately begin rebuilding roads in North Sinai that had been damaged by excessive flooding. "The Ministry will build a ring road around the city of Arish to facilitate entrance and exit to and from the city," he explained. "The seaport will also be modernized," Radi added. "And tunnels will be dug underneath the Suez Canal in order to connect its east side to its west side." Radi further said that the Agriculture Ministry planned to offer some 50,000 acres next month to investors for various projects, and that the Industry Ministry would complete a gas supply network--currently under construction--in an effort to provide local factories with natural gas. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
