Specific Programs for carrying out government policy statement
Egypt, Politics, 1/24/2001

At its meeting yesterday the cabinet, under Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, set a national action programme for carrying out the government policy statement.

Ebeid set priorities for the projects contributing to confronting unemployment, providing job opportunities and improving economic performance in order to back up national economy, to maintain balance between the exchange rates of foreign currencies, determining volume of foreign exchange spending, commitment to timetables for carrying essential services in villages, cities and providing low cost housing for the limited income brackets.

Minister of Information Safwat Al Sherif said Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, offered a survey map that was drafted by the Ministry of Defence for utilization of the state lands until the year 2017.

The map showed that areas of land assigned to investment opportunities on Egypt's land until the year 2017 cover only 28% of Egypt's area.

Safwat El Sherif said that it was decided to set up a specialized working group to follow up execution of those programmes and to give priority to the programme which calls for providing job opportunities and lay down urgent, medium and long-term plans to face unemployment.

As regards economic conditions, it was decided to carry out a programme to activate Egyptian economic movement, regulate economic and financial performance and realize a balance in the exchange rate and also to realize balance between resources and expenditure, supply and demand and ask the banking system to regulate the work of exchange offices.

It was also decided to carry out projects of basic services at the level of the village and city, notably projects of water, sanitary drainage, low-cost housing units and to regulate construction activity by fixing cordons of cities and villages.

Safwat El Sherif said that these programs will be discussed successively at future cabinet meetings and fix relevant assignments.

Safwat AL Sherif said that the cabinet discussed studies related to future use of state land and laid down guidelines to preserve this land.

The Ministry of Defence has carried out an assignment to draw up these studies and made a full survey of the use of state land in order to coordinate with the ministries concerned. The Ministry has drawn up maps for use.

Minister of Defence and Military Production Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi presented a summary of the results of meetings held by the ministerial committee concerned and the work undertaken by the agencies of the Ministry of Defence.

A definition was made of strategic land of military importance in accordance with law 7/91 and the boundaries and area of state plans to reclaim land up to the year 2017.

The Minister of Defence said that a definition was made of the boundaries and area of land for mining and industrial activities up to 2017 and also the area of the land of urban cities and tourist activities up to the same year and the boundaries and area of desert land headed for activities of the Ministry of Transport up to 2017.

A definition was also made of archaeological sites and land in which archaeological traces were found. The boundaries of natural reserves were also fixed.

Field Marshal Tantawi said that all ministries and agencies approved the information given in maps drawn up by the ministry of defence to expand land of the various activities after removing intersections among the various activities.

Land was also fixed for investment opportunities in Egypt up to 2017 that represents 28 per cent of total area in Egypt.

A map was drawn up for the use of the remaining 72 per cent of the land that includes land for Safari tourism, land for natural reserves in addition to land of the Environment Authority considering that it will be reserves in future.

Safwat El-Sherif said the maps fixed 48 per cent of land owned by the state for which no use up to 2017.

This represents an investment for the future and sustained development and an asset for future generations.

The cabinet expressed thanks and appreciation for the armed forces and the ministry of defence for the accurate, overall and unprecedented work which was realized in a very limited time. It was planned to complete this work in 10 years.

The armed forces accomplished the task in one year.

Safwat El Sherif said the Cabinet approved in principle a republican decision to approve the map for the use of state land up to 2017 and state ownership of desert land for which no definite use is done.

This land will be dispensed with through the council of ministers and any possession of it will not be recognized.

The cabinet approved setting up a national center for planning and use of state land.

The center will be established by a republican decree.

It will be a general authority and foremost among its tasks will be to fix and evaluate state land and draw up general plans for its development and use within the framework of the general policy of the state and fix the sites for main new projects in the country.

Previous Stories:
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