Egypt, Saudi Arabia sign loan agreements totaling $24 billion

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have signed final loan agreements worth over $24 billion during King’s Salman official visit to Cairo, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr confirmed Sunday.

The accords include:

— $22 billion finance for Egypt’s five-year petroleum needs.

— $1.5 billion concessional loan and $200 million grant from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to upgrade Egypt’s Sinai infrastructure and to finance transportation, housing and agricultural projects.

Sinai will also witness a resumption of construction of King Salman University in the peninsula.

— $120 million concessional loan from SFD to renovate Cairo’s historical Kasr El-Aini Hospital.

— $100 million loan, approved by the SDF, to finance the expansion of the West Cairo power station to generate an additional 650 megawatts.

The two Arab nations also signed a memorandum of understandings (MoU) on future investment agreements, Nasr said.

These agreements include establishing an Egyptian-Saudi investment fund worth some $16 billion, in addition to Josur Al-Mahabba Company developing the Suez Canal area to an amount worth EGP 3 billion (roughly $337 million).

MoU’s also covered establishing a company to develop an industrial zone at the Suez Canal with a total sum of $3.3 billion, read a statement on the Ministry of International Cooperation’s website.

King Salman said Sunday during a “historic” address before the Egyptian parliament that Riyadh and Cairo have agreed to set up a “free trade zone” in the Sinai Peninsula.

Source: Ahram Online