Egypt is developing around 12 new cities across the country at the same time, a move that would attract new investments and avoid congestion in the Nile Delta governorates, said Egyptian Minister of Housing Moustafa Madbouly on Monday In a special working dinner organised by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) on Monday, Madbouly asserted that his ministry seeks to avoid mistakes made in the development of cities such as the 6th of October and New Cairo. The ministry plans to carry out a monorail as well as a mass-transit scheme and establishing buss links in the new cities such as New El Alamein, New Mansoura, and New Damietta, he added. Madbouly said that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's directives to accelerate works on development schemes was the main incentive to implement large bulk of various national projects in due time. The ministry is racing the time to implement numerous projects in time and meet quality standards. The Ministry of Housing said he met Monday with President Sisi to accelerate works on Rod Al Farag Bridge along the Nile, which will connect Cairo, Giza, Qalioubia governorates, in due time with no delays. This bridge, made by using the latest technologies, will be the biggest in the world and will be in the Guinness World Records as soon as it is finished, with a 64-metre width, the minister added. Moreover, Madbouly stressed that his ministry is working with the private sector not competing with them, by introducing the PPP system through the revenue-sharing mechanism. For the private sector, PPP is a win-win situation, that will relieve financial burdens of depositing down-payment as property developers would then dedicate liquidity to carry out projects instead of buying lands. This week, the ministry has started receiving the technical and financial offers for the second stage of the PPP projects, which includes 13 lands to invest, Madbouly said. Speaking about the future of development in Sinai, Madbouly said his ministry is already developing new cities there, in Ismailia and Port Said, referring to a lot of development plans in the Peninsula built on heavy infrastructure projects. The Egyptian minister also referred that officials in the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have commended the progress made in Egypt's social housing programme, which includes carrying out one million units for low-income citizens. The ministry has developed 600,000 units in three years and half, he added. The social housing programme is working as a revolving, self-financed with the help of the mortgage finances offered by the banking sector. It does not represent a financial burden to the government at all, creating a vehicle of sustainability not directed by finances from the government, Madbouly added.
