Egypt to Release Guide on Transfer Plan to New Administrative Capital

A model of a planned new capital for Egypt is displayed for investors during the final day of Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A model of a planned new capital for Egypt is displayed for investors during the final day of Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 15, 2015. (Reuters)
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Egypt to Release Guide on Transfer Plan to New Administrative Capital

A model of a planned new capital for Egypt is displayed for investors during the final day of Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 15, 2015. (Reuters)
A model of a planned new capital for Egypt is displayed for investors during the final day of Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 15, 2015. (Reuters)

Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform is expected to release a guide on the executive plan for the process of transferring entities and ministries to the New Administrative Capital.

“The guide will serve as a document specifying the role and responsibility of each participant in the transfer process, supported by performance indicators,” said Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held Friday a meeting to follow up on the latest developments in the move to the new capital.

The meeting was attended by Saeed, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem al-Gazzar, Minister of Transport Kamel el Wazir, Chairman of the New Administrative Capital Company for Urban Development Ahmed Zaki Abdeen and a number of other officials.

Madbouly stressed his keenness to follow up on the executive position of the transfer process to the new capital in a regular manner.

He mainly follows up on the construction work, the process of transferring the staff and the management of the government district, as well as identifying the efforts made in the mechanization and digital transformation in government buildings.

“The implementation plan has been divided into major activities carried out by specific entities, such as information infrastructure, human resources and incentives to move to the new capital,” Saeed explained.

She added that these incentives include transportation and the provision of housing units for employees who will be transferred by offering them facilitation in payment methods.

Wazir, for his part, pointed out that a plan has been prepared for the mass transportation of the staff and points where they will be assembled have been identified in order to facilitate the process.

In June, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the government to adhere to the construction plan in the new capital and to speed up the completion of the main and internal roads.



ICRC to Expand Syria Humanitarian Efforts beyond $100 Mln Program

A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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ICRC to Expand Syria Humanitarian Efforts beyond $100 Mln Program

A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to expand its work in Syria significantly beyond an initial $100 million program, the organization's president said on Monday, citing pressing needs in the health, water and power sectors.
Syria requires $4.07 billion in aid this year, but only 33.1% has been funded, leaving a $2.73 billion gap, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The ICRC's expected expansion follows new access to all regions of the country after the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad last month.
"Our program originally for this year for Syria was $100 million, but we are likely to expand that significantly," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric told Reuters on the sidelines of a visit to the country.
She said individual donor countries had already come forward with an increase in funding for Syria.
ICRC was one of the few international organizations still operating in Syria under Assad's rule, working on infrastructure projects including water and electricity systems.
"We need to expand that work, we have a lot to do in the health sector," she added.
The organization is engaged in rehabilitation work to sustain water provision at 40% to 50% of what it was before the war, but protection of water facilities remains important as some are close to places where fighting is still under way.
"There are facilities next to the Euphrates Lake that are specific to the protection requirement at the moment," she said.
Initial assessments to begin immediate rehabilitation of Syria’s electricity systems are partly complete, but urgent financial investments and adjustments to sanctions are now required, she added.
"Certain spare parts need to be allowed to come in because that is also hampering the rehabilitation work at the moment. So there's a political dimension to it," she said.
Earlier, people briefed on the matter told Reuters that the US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime.
On Sunday, Syria's new rulers said US sanctions were an obstacle to the country's rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them, during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.