Egypt plans $1bn Red Sea marina, hotel development
Egypt announced plans on Monday for a new $1bn marina, hotel and housing development on the Red Sea in a bid to boost the region's tourist industry.
A tourist rides a beach buggy in Wadi Billi, at El-Gouna near the Red Sea, Egypt, 14 November 2018. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Construction on the "Monte Galala Towers and Marina" project would start in the second half of the year and run for seven years, Ahmed Shalaby, managing director of the main developer, Tatweer Misr, said.
The 10-tower development - a partnership with the housing ministry and other state bodies including the armed forces' engineering authority - would cost about 50 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.07bn), he added.
The project, also announced by the cabinet, will cover 470,000m2 on the Gulf of Suez, about 35km south of Ain Sokhna, Shalaby said.
Egypt aims to boost total tourist arrivals to around 30 million by 2030, from around 19 million recorded by the tourism ministry in 2025.
($1 = 46.8200 Egyptian pounds)
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Reporting by Ahmed Elimam, Momen Saeed Atallah and Alexander Dziadosz; editing by Andrew Heavens