TSFE, Housing Ministry discuss investment opportunities in water desalination projects

Press Release

H.E. Dr. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairperson of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) met on Thursday with Dr. Asim Al-Jazzar, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities to discuss means of cooperation in the developing of Khedivial Cairo and sewage treatment and water desalination projects within the current five-year plan.

The meeting witnessed the presence of Ayman Suleiman, Executive Director of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), and leading figures from the two ministries.

The meeting witnessed a discussion of ways to exploit the assets transferred to the sovereign fund in the downtown area from various government agencies, including the Tahrir complex, which is among the first assets to be developed within the ambitious scheme for the Cairo Khedive District.

El-Said asserted her ministry’s keenness to cooperate with the Ministry of Housing, to maximize the benefit from the untapped state assets and to achieve the highest return from their optimal use.

She explained that this cooperation also aims to increase the state’s resources and to utilize those returns in the various development projects that are being implemented in Egypt.

El-Said added that (TSFE) will play the role of the general developer of these assets within the framework of the vision of the political leadership and the Ministry of Housing to restore the region to its splendor in partnership with international and local investors, especially in light of the great demand for partnership in the Tahrir complex.

For his part, Dr. Assem Al-Jazzar explained during the meeting that the best ways to exploit the state’s untapped assets were discussed, for example (the building of the Tahrir complex – the land of the National Party building) in Tahrir Square, according to the actual needs, and within the framework of the comprehensive study of the surrounding place, and by what brings the highest return for the state.

Moreover, Al-Jazzar stressed the need to choose the appropriate activities for the untapped assets of the state in the vicinity of Khedive Cairo, in line with the historical nature of the city.

Al-Jazzar explained that mechanisms for the private sector’s participation in implementing seawater desalination plants were also discussed, to maximize the benefit from available water resources and improve services provided to the Egyptian citizen, in the governorates and coastal cities.

Meanwhile, Ayman Suleiman, Executive Director of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) said that the fund will work to complete the necessary studies to determine the best uses of the Tahrir Complex building in proportion to its nature and the nature of the area in preparation for inviting developers specializing in various fields of hotel, administrative and commercial activities of a special nature.

The attendees also discussed, and within the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to expand projects for treating sewage and desalination of drinking water as part of a plan to improve infrastructure and provide usable water.

Soliman explained that (TSFE) is expected to participate through the Egypt Sub-Fund for Utilities and Infrastructure, and in partnership with local and international investors, to contribute to the success of the first phase of the desalination plant, which is represented in the first five-year plan that includes the implementation of desalination capacities of up to 1 4 million cubic meters of water per day, at an investment cost of EGP 30 billion.