Cabinet tasks Local Development Ministry with streamlining permits for mining
The Ismail cabinet amended licensing procedures for mines and quarries in the executive regulations of the Mines and Quarries Act, tasking the Local Development Ministry with issuing all licences and permit approvals within one month of receiving security permits to operate. The cabinet statement referred to the law as the Mineral Resources Act, even though that act had been voted down by the House in January. Other decisions taken during their weekly meeting yesterday include:
- Approved loans on preferential terms from the Export-Import Bank of Korea through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund for development projects signed in March. Though the cabinet does not state the size of the loan, International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr had put them at least USD 700 mn back when they were signed. The cabinet also approved a loan agreement to develop railway signalling infrastructure from Nag Hammadi to Luxor;
- Approved a EUR 47 mn financing agreement with the German government to fund SMEs;
- Approved a KWD 29 mn (USD 96 mn) facility from the Kuwait Fund for Development to finance five desalination plants in Sinai;
- Approved maritime and logistical cooperation agreements with Bahrain and Mauritania.