A judicial body on Monday urged Egypt's High Administrative Court to nullify a government contract for the sale of a 100,000-acre plot of land to Saudi prince and billionaire al-Walid bin Talal, saying the land deal was illegal. A report by the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority, a judicial institution that resembles, in respect of competencies, the Attorney General in common law disciplines, stated that the contract concluded between the Egyptian Government and bin Talal's Kingdom Agricultural Development Company is “null and void in its entirety". In 1997, the Egyptian Government sold 100,000 acres of state-owned land in the Toshka land reclamation project to an agricultural development company owned by the prince. According to the terms of the contract, bin Talal paid only LE50 -- less than US$10 -- per acre. He also received discounted rates for water and electricity, in addition to tax exemptions and the right to own the land after completing payment. Several members of parliament had accused the government of squandering public funds by granting bin Talal so many privileges. The report noted that the land contract is illegal, as the law confines desert land ownership to a maximum of 50,000 acres. Also, the original objective for the deal was not achieved, as only 600 acres of land was reclaimed. Translated from the Arabic Edition
