Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has said that Matrouh governorate and the entire western region were largely marginalised during the past years, but the state now prioritises this region, as the new development projects in Matrouh will positively affect its people. During a meeting with a number of the governorate's residents on Wednesday in Salloum, the president said that the planned projects in Matrouh, whether ports, express trains, and new cities, will eventually have a great impact on the people and will provide work opportunities. The president also indicated that a logistics zone is to be established on an area of 250 to 300 feddan, next to the Salloum port, and it will provide new job opportunities in the governorate. Al-Sisi said that the economic challenge facing Egypt is great, which requires a lot of work during the coming period. He pointed out that the state has a general principle, as it does not oppress or harm any citizen in any action it takes, stressing that for any land obtained by the state for a legitimate work, the citizen gets the appropriate compensation. For the first time, the president commented on the power cuts crisis, and the government's announcement of a plan for load shedding in the current period. He said: "We had to do so as power plants consume more fuel due to the very high temperatures which increased the costs of power production in light of the increase in fuel prices." He added: "We sell fuel to citizens in Egyptian pounds, but we import it in US dollars. We must face this challenge, not with the state's efforts only, but also with people's understanding. We need work and patience." He further explained that Egypt was affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian war and that the economic challenge facing Egypt is great, adding: "We can overcome this challenge by working together." The president pointed out the need to organize the presence of tribes in Matrouh according to their customs, in order for the state to have an opportunity to provide the various services (education – health and others) in a better way than it is now. He stressed that the cities that the state is working to establish along the coast benefit the people of Matrouh through the establishment of industrial zones, schools, universities, and hospitals. He added: "We have been working for 8 years throughout the Egyptian state, and there is no place in Egypt that the hands of development have not reached, from Aswan to Alexandria and Salloum, in order to achieve Egypt's Vision 2030."
