Saudi mulls funding Egyptian projects worth $230m

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) is reviewing three projects proposed by the Egyptian government worth a total of $230 million, the Kingdom's Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Kattan said in a statement. The first project is worth $60 million to supply Nasr City with drinking water.

The second is worth $80 million to renew and replace irrigation pumps. The third is worth $90 million to build vertical silos to store seeds. "These projects will be presented to the Fund’s board for approval as soon as possible," the statement said. A delegation from the SFD visited Egypt last May. It met with officials from the Egyptian government to finalise the details of Saudi Arabia's economic assistance to Egypt.

Kattan added that a joint committee from the SFD, along with the Egyptian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, will be formed to arrange support for small and medium enterprises in Egypt with $200 million of Saudi money. The ambassador, however, did not provide details of the timeframe through which such funds would be disbursed.

On 22 May, Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said the OPEC country was in the process of finalising a $2.7-billion aid package for Egypt. Egypt had earlier agreed to sell $500 million in treasury bonds to Saudi Arabia. The bonds are part of a package of financial support promised by Saudi Arabia in 2011. As part of the package, Riyadh transferred $1 billion as an eight-year deposit at Egypt's central bank in May.