Egypt to start talks with global lenders to finance Zewail science city: minister

Egypt will start talks with international financial institutions to secure funds for Zewail City of Science and Technology (ZCST), the brainchild of Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail, international cooperation minister Sahar Nasr said Sunday.

Zewail City of Science and Technology is a nonprofit, independent institution of learning, research and innovation. The concept of the City was proposed in 1999 and its cornerstone laid on January 1, 2000.

After numerous delays, the project was revived by the Egyptian cabinet’s decree on May 11, 2011 following the January 25 Revolution. The Cabinet labeled it a National Project for Scientific Renaissance and named it Zewail City of Science and Technology.

Zewail City of Science and Technology with its three constituents – the university, research institutes, and technology park – is designed to bring about effective participation in 21st Century science, to elevate local technologies to the world level, and to increase national productivity.

A military funeral were held on Sunday for Egyptian chemist and Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail who died in the United States earlier on Tuesday at the age of 70, Zewail City for Science and Technology’s media advisor and spokesperson Sherif Fouad said Wednesday.