The Ministry of Finance has launched a project to revamp all its notary offices and connect them through a mechanised system for investors. The project will be implemented through a public private partnership (PPP) after Eid Al-Adha in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Finance ministry announced in a statement on Thursday. The project is the third amongst seven projects within the 2015 plan adopted by Minister of Finance Hany Kadry Dimian, said head of the PPP Unit at the Ministry of Finance, Atef Hanoura. In May 2015, the unit launched the technological zone project in Maadi in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications. The unit also recently launched a project to develop the commercial registry in collaboration with the Ministry of Supply, Hanoura added. Meanwhile, Hanoura revealed that the Finance ministry has completed preparations for the third PPP Unit International Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Cairo in mid-October. The conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and will be attended by Finance Minister Dimian, a number of officials and ambassadors of European, Arab, and African states as well as presidents of international companies interested in investing in PPP projects in Egypt. During the conference, the Egyptian government will launch three new PPP projects to establish three desalination plants for drinking water. The plants will be located in Sinai, Safaga and the North Coast in Alamein City, Hanoura said. He added that the seventh and final project in the ministry's 2015 plan will be the development of the river bus, which will be launched next November. Regarding the most significant panel discussion in the International conference, Hanoura said that there will be a panel to discuss on the development projects within the Suez Canal zone and another to discuss financing tools and mechanisms. He added that a number of financing organisations, such as the World Bank and the European Reconstruction and Development Bank (EBRD) will be invited to these panels. A third panel will discuss legislation and contract mechanisms of PPP projects, and a number of Egyptian, regional and international legal bureaus will participate, according to Hanoura. Hanoura also said that, before launching any project, the PPP Unit will conduct elaborate, technical, legal, economic and environmental feasibility studies in collaboration with international experts in the respective sectors. Egypt accounts for approximately 60% to 70% of the volume of technical grants provided to the (PPP) system in the Middle East and Africa, Hanoura noted. He added that this huge percentage is due to the country's readily available projects, its laws that are similar to international laws, as well as its developed work mechanisms. In conclusion, Hanoura noted that the PPP Unit obligates foreign investors to acquire local partners in order to benefit from their experiences in dealing with the legal and organisational environment in Egypt.
