Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Saturday a large number of projects have been implemented by the state in Upper Egypt across different sectors, with a total cost of EGP 6.2trn. This came during the opening of several road and transport projects in Upper Egypt, via video conference. The projects also included the development and expansion of the first phase of the Western Upper Egypt Desert Road between Cairo and Minya with a length of 230 km, in addition to the duplication of the Safaga/Qusair/Marsa Alam road with a length of 200 km, and 3 sledge bridges: the Balina Bridge in Sohag with a length of 1834 meters and the Directorate Bridge in Beni Suef with a length of 540 meters The Gerga Bridge in Sohag is 1,300 meters long, and the bridge above the Toshka spillway in Aswan is 450 meters long. He explained that there are more projects that will be implemented in the various governorates of the Republic and that Egypt is moving strongly in the field of development and we need to support the private sector and companies. This comes within the framework of the state's efforts to achieve an integrated development and service renaissance for the people of Upper Egypt, and to provide direct and indirect job opportunities, as the openings include a number of industrial complexes, axes and roads. Especially the transverse axes on the Nile. Al-Sisi listened to a detailed explanation from Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir,on developing roads and restoring the efficiency of roads in Upper Egypt. He said that projects inaugurated on Saturday amounted to 11 projects, at a cost of about EGP 18.155 bn and reviewed five new axes including "Adly Mansour" in Beni Suef, "Samalut" in Minya, "Dairout" in Assiut, "Qus" in Qena, and "Kalabsha" in Aswan. with a total length of 88 kilometers at a cost of EGP 7.6 bn.on the Nile River and a number of main roads and bridges aimed at achieving comprehensive development in Upper Egypt. During the inauguration, President Al-Sisi offered the three owners of the three companies Said Allam, Hani Tadros, and the General Nile Company for Roads and Bridges, headed by Al-Wazir, to receive 25% of the value of the project and finish it within a year, and they all agreed. After obtaining their approval, the president commented: "Those who work with the state are courageous people" and continued questioning listeners "Do you know what it means to take 25% of the value of a project that costs more than EGP 2bn?!" He warned against trespassing by building on both sides of the new axes that are being created and directed to prevent construction on both sides of the axes, at a depth of one kilometer, but he stressed that the existing buildings would not be removed. He also assigned the government to take the necessary measures to prevent construction on the areas, and assigned the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior to follow up on this. Moreover, the president spoke about the importance of spreading services in an integrated manner on new roads and axes. The president added that the presence achieves control over security on the roads, calling for the provision of integrated services, whether by the government or private companies. Al-Sisi further called on companies working in construction projects to "diversify their portfolio" in industries based on the same file.
