(AFP File Photo)
The Tourism Development Authority announced that is has achieved “unprecedented revenues” of EGP 571m during the 2013/2014 fiscal year, exceeding the authority’s goal revenue levels by EGP 141m.
The revenue increase pushed the government surplus up to EGP 421m, EGP 180m and 74.7% more than previous estimations, the authority said, with the revenues and surplus gained this year the largest since the its founding.
The authority has backed seven new development projects on the Red Sea and Ain Sokhna over an area of 5.2 m square metres.
The authority made up front payments for these projects amounting to $39.4m, and has said it is planning to support a marina project that will face Ain Sokhna and Ras Sudr coordination with the Sinai Peninsula Development Council.
The Tourism Development Authority’s board of directors, chaired by Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, agreed to a new deadline for development projects for implementation to be completed after late fees payment.
The board agreed to grant projects that received initial approvals a new deadline as long as the project can prove its seriousness as well as legitimate reasons behind the delay. The decision was taken by the governors of South Sinai, the Red Sea, and Aswan, the Executive Director of the Tourism development Authority, and the members of the Board of Directors.
The board also approved the issuance of initial approvals for 9 projects in the Red Sea to obtain unused neighbouring land for existing projects.
