Egypt signed a loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) worth $100m on Tuesday. The loan will help finance the construction of five seawater desalination plants in South Sinai.
Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said the loan would be repaid over 25 years with a five-year grace period and a 2% interest rate.
This loan is part of a financing package totalling $900m offered by the Kuwaiti fund to develop projects in Sinai.
According to the director general of KFAED, Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader, the project will begin early next year and is expected to be completed before the end of 2019.
One of the plants will produce 20,000 cubic meters per day, while the other four plants will produce 10,000 cubic meters per day in Ras Sidr, Abu Zenimah, Dahab, and Nuweiba.
The Egyptian government seeks to raise the standard of living for citizens in Sinai through the implementation of several development and service projects in the framework of the Sinai Peninsula development programme, including hospitals and schools.
According to the Ministry of International Cooperation, in January a group of Gulf investors offered funds estimated at $6bn for the development of Sinai, of which $1.5bn would be provided by Saudi Arabia.
