Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohie Eddin has announced the completion of a technical study examining the possible construction of a tunnel connecting the cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said to the Sinai Peninsula. The findings of the study, completed by international consulting firms, were presented at a conference in South Sinai. The tunnel is designed to have two motor lanes and a railway track. The total cost of its construction is estimated at LE1 billion, to be raised through a special fund so as to avoid any additional financial burdens on the state budget. Mohie Eddin also said the government is planning to build the country's biggest investment zone north west of Suez, which the cabinet will discuss in its first meeting after the summer holiday. He also said the president has endorsed the building of a large container movement terminal on the seaport of East Port Said. The minister added that a feasibility study of a large sodium carbonate factory to be built in Sinai has also been completed. The factory will cost an estimated LE1.3 billion. "We are talking to the Ministry of Petroleum to supply the factory with natural gas," he said. Mohie Eddin, however, urged Sinai residents to open more private businesses. "Private businesses in Sinai account for only 20 percent of total businesses nationwide," he explained. Moreover, he said the government will build 5000 housing units in the canal cities and Sinai, in accordance with President Hosni Mubarak's electoral platform. For his part, the governor of North Sinai said he is offering 39,000 acres to private investors this year with all necessary infrastructure facilities for different projects. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
