Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the massive investments in the Sinai province are an issue of national security his country.
He called on officials to “reassure” citizens to avoid falling for “attempts to spread rumors and lies.”
“During the past five years, Egypt has invested heavily in Sinai. The investment cost of the projects implemented has amounted to 800 billion pounds,” Sisi said during an event to inaugurate of a number of projects in the Suez region and in southern and northern Sinai.
The Egyptian military has for years been waging operations against terrorist groups in the Sinai Peninsula.
The security forces launched in February 2018 a massive couter-terrorism operation aimed at ridding the region of the groups.
Addressing ministers and senior state officials at the ceremony, Sisi said they needed to “talk more” and prevent Egyptians from being deceived by parties that are distorting the truth.
“We are all responsible, and the state, with its institutions and media, is the protector of the Egyptian people.”
Egypt is seeking to develop the Canal Zone governorates of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez and southern and northern Sinai to transform them into an economic hub.
This would help turn North Sinai into an attractive location for investment.
The projects inaugurated by Sisi on Tuesday included two desalination plants with a capacity of 36,000 cubic meters per day for the phosphate and compound fertilizers complex, a 1,000 cubic meters per day plant for the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority and a Red Sea desalination complex with a total capacity of 512,000 cubic meters per day, as well as other projects.
