Qatar signs deal for two major ports in Egypt

Arabian Business reported that Qatar had signed an agreement with Egypt to establish two new ports with the potential to create more than a million jobs.

Mr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah Qatar's Minister of State for International Cooperation said that the ports will be built in Port Said and Alexandria.

After leading a delegation to Egypt, he said that there will also be bilateral cooperation in establishing two investment companies in Africa with one focused on Sudan. 1 million job opportunities would be created by the Port Said port project with another 200,000 jobs as a result of the Alexandria proposal.

The Minister said that the two sides would draw up a plan to carry out their agreements and set a time frame for the establishments of the ports. A delegation of Qatari businessmen would visit Egypt next month to look for investment opportunities.

Last week, Qatar said that it was drawing up potential projects worth at least USD 10 billion to help Egypt's economy after the popular uprising that ousted president Mr Hosni Mubarak in February.

Egypt has been asking donors and the International Monetary Fund to help to bridge an estimated USD 10 billion to USD 12 billion balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that begins on July 1st 2011.