An organisational structure responsible for implementing the ‘1m acres' project was established in a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb. A cabinet report on Wednesday stated that different aspects of the project were discussed, and an organisational structure and the ideal methods to direct the project were established. The period of time, the legislative framework, the costs needed to implement the project were determined and suitable funding methods were suggested. The ‘1m acres' project is one of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's national projects. Al-Sisi aims to expand Egyptian urban land through improving zones which are included in the national plan to reclaim 4m acres. The project aims to create new outlooks for sustainable development and establish modern societies which depend on agriculture as a main economic base and that can integrate with the rest of the economic constituents. According to cabinet spokesman, Hossam El-Kawish, the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development (ECSD) will head the organisational structure of the project. The structure then includes the owner of the project, represented by the concerned ministries and finally the main developers of the project, represented by the shareholder companies whether youth or investors in the agriculture or industrial sectors. The Social Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will be responsible for funding the project. El-Kawish states that the main developer system was selected as it is considered the best way to direct the project. It balances between development, investment and providing tools to fund this project on many levels in order to improve the economic income. Once this is achieved, the project can fund itself. During the meeting, an agreement was reached to continue implementing the project with priority to projects concerning the development of the 1m acres in West Minya, Toshka, Al-Farafrah. These areas represent a model for agricultural integrated urban communities. Al-Kawish said that Mehleb ordered the Minister of Planning to quickly complete implementation steps concerning the establishment of the national company which will manage the project. The Minister of Housing, Mostafa Madbouly, was also ordered to start fulfilling the needs for these zones, referring to the housing units, utilities, roads and infrastructure. All these achievements will attract youth and investors to relocate to these zones to support the project and help create developed and integrated urban communities.
