Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said has approved funding of EGP 49m for the construction of a pedestrian bridge and a Corniche-side river marina, opposite Cairo’s Muhammad Ali Palace.
The funding comes as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2020/21 plan, and will be given to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which runs under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. It was approved in light of the development work that is currently ongoing at the Muhammad Ali Palace.
El-Said noted her ministry’s keenness to provide the necessary support for national and historic projects. The funding for the Muhammad Ali Palace comes in implementation of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s directives during a conference on the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).
One of the conference’s decisions was the establishment of a river marina on the Corniche opposite the Muhammad Ali Palace in Shubra, to help transport visitors and avoiding traffic congestion.
El-Said said that the marina construction project falls under the main project entitled “Restoration of Islamic and Coptic Antiquities”, and pointed to the state’s interest in restoring historic monuments.
The minister added that the Muhammad Ali Palace restoration project was allocated EGP 100m, and then strengthened with an amount of EGP 7m. This means that the total amount approved for the project stands at EGP 12m in the FY 2021/2020 plan.
It is worth noting that Presidential Decree No 467 for the year 2020 re-allocates a 1,050 m3 area of land for the benefit of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The area, which was transferred from its previous title as lands designated for agricultural reclamation, will be used in the construction of anchorage for boats on the Corniche.
