40% of Egypt suitable for development – official

The Minister of Housing emphasized on Sunday that about 40 per cent of Egypt is suitable for development, adding that 24 per cent of this 40 per cent is already ready for development, the official Middle East News Agency reports.

Minister Fathi el-Baradie said that the rest of this area will require some effort to be developed.

“However, if the Ministry develops this suitable area, the inhabited area of Egypt will increase fourfold,” he stressed.

During his speech in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on Sunday, el-Baradie announced a project to develop this land, describing the project as the fruit of the efforts of Egyptian scientists and experts, adding that the above statistics are supported by scientific evidence.

The Minister explained that the project will also use water from the River Nile to reclaim 5 million feddans of land for agricultural purposes.

El-Baradie added that the project will focus on the Suez Canal, Sinai and Upper Egypt.

In el-Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt, 100,000 feddans of land in three areas east and west of the Nile will be used for three projects using wind energy to generate electricity.

The project will also include developing Toshka, where five industrial cities will be built, creating many jobs for youth.