The Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development signed an investment contract with Gulf businessmen Abdul Rahman Sharbatly and Fahd El-Shobokshi to develop the South Marina area. In statements to Daily News Egypt, on the sidelines of the Economic Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the contract is worth $4bn in investments. The government is targeting the development of 3,500 acres over different phases, and increasing population density on the north-western coast through tourist, residential and agricultural investments. According to former Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, the South Marina project will be one of the largest projects of a comprehensive developmental dimension in tourism, agriculture and housing. He added that the project will add significant strength to Egyptian tourist products on the Mediterranean coast. Egypt currently has a hotel capacity of 225,000 rooms, excluding 108,000 rooms still under construction. According to Madbouly, the Ministry of Housing is considered one of the most prominent parties that raised projects during the Economic Summit. The project to establish a new capital is one of the biggest projects proposed by the ministry during the Summit. The capital will be a new extension of Cairo, and will see governmental bodies transferred to it, easing population density. The ministry is working on marketing for projects that will significantly help the Egyptian economic growth rates to grow, Madbouly added. The government aims to close the current fiscal year with rates reaching 4%.
