CABINET WATCH- The Ismail Cabinet approved yesterday the establishment of a freezone in Nuweiba and will offer investment incentives there including 50% tax cuts for three years. The 1 mn sqm zone is expected to see as much as USD 40 mn in infrastructure-related investment, South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda said yesterday. The freezone is part of the government’s Sinai development strategy, which relies significantly on attracting local and Arab investors to the peninsula to spur growth, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr told reporters yesterday.

The ministers also signed off on legislation allowing the oil minister to sign oil exploration and production agreements in Ras Qattara with the EGPC, the International Egyptian Oil Company, and Croatian oil and gas company INA; in in the Gulf of Suez’s North Zaafarana concession with Zaafarana Petroleum Company, Oceaneer Zaafarana, and Sahary for Oil and Gas; and in the West Delta Deep Water Concession with Shell and PICL Egypt Corporation. Other decisions approved during the weekly meeting:

• Approving a program that could see subsidized interest rates on loans to build or expand sporting clubs and other large areas at 10% and 12%, respectively;
• Legislation allowing foreign universities to establish branches within Egypt;
• Legalizing the status of marble and granite factories and warehouses in Shaq Al Thoban and turning the area into a specialized city for their production;
• Implementing the 2030 water sustainability agreement signed with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization;