Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din inaugurated a new factory for plastic products in the Safa industrial region of Assiut, one of the largest growing industrial regions in Upper Egypt, according to a statement released on his official website Saturday. Bahaa El-Din also inaugurated a new Juhayna factory in the Arab Al-Awamer industrial area in Assiut on the same day. The Juhayna factory is the first dairy product factory of its kind in Upper Egypt, worth EGP 200m in investments and reported to create 200 jobs directly, according to the statement. The inaugurations, attended by Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour and Governor of Assiut Ibrahim Hamad, are part of the deputy prime minister's extended visit to industrial areas in Upper Egypt. Abdel-Nour stated that the visit was part of a governmental initiative to improve industrial development in Upper Egypt, increase employment, and attract investment into the region. He added that new projects will soon be proposed for these purposes in addition to facilitating investment, according to a statement from the ministry. The statement added that Hamad and both ministers held an extensive meeting with the region's investors to address the most important obstacles to investment. The investments for both factories were "100% Egyptian," according to the statement. The Egyptian cabinet also announced Thursday that it had approved several new projects. These included building two bridges in Luxor to connect the Luxor and Karnak temples in an attempt to boost tourism in the region, costing about EGP 50m. The cabinet also increased funding for the development of the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road to about EGP 810m, and has planned on building a new road to a touristic village in Al-Kawthar, located on the Upper Egypt-Red Sea Road, which should cost approximately EGP 24m. They also approved new projects to improve sewage and wastewater treatment. These included establishing a new sewage line and more pumps in the Rafah station in Arish, which should cost around EGP 31.5m. Additionally, they planned to renovate and expand the wastewater treatment plant in New Beni Suef , at an estimated cost of EGP 200m. The cabinet has also approved a draft presidential decree regarding a loan agreement from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for building a power plant in southern Helwan. The cabinet's statement did not specify when these projects would take place or the sources of their funding.
