SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt - Egypt will offer 100,000 feddans (103,800 acres) for agri-business in North Sinai on a 49-year lease, but only to domestic investors, the agriculture minister told Reuters on Monday. "The concession right is renewable ... and we are currently negotiating with two Egyptian State-owned banks to take part as developers," Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza said on the sidelines of a conference, naming the banks as Banque Misr and National Bank of Egypt. "The land will be offered to Egyptian investors only because it is in Sinai," the minister said, adding that negotiations with the two banks would conclude in July. Under the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, land on the Sinai peninsula can not be sold to foreigners. The land will be used for agriculture reclamation and agriculture manufacturing projects, Abaza said. The minister had previously said Egypt would invite tenders in March for 50,000 acres of land in North Sinai for agri-business projects. Egypt said in February it planned to lease farmland for agri-business projects during 2010, but was waiting for the agriculture ministry to allocate suitable plots. The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) said last year Egypt would start up its agri-industrial zones project in June 2009. It said Egypt could raise as much as LE66 billion ($12 billion) by 2020 through the scheme.
