Egypt to build 400 villages around Nile Valley

The Egyptian government will be finalizing, over the coming few days, a study on a mega-project to develop the Nile valley through building 400 new villages in desert hinterland around the Valley.

The new villages can accommodate as many as five million people over the coming ten years and will add to the Egyptian arable land over 1.5 million feddans, said Magdi Radi, the Cabinet Spokesman.

Commercial and industrial projects will be set up in the new villages with a view to creating more jobs for young people, he said, noting that all services would be available for the inhabitants of the new areas.

The project will span a maximum of 10 square kilometers on both sides of the Nile banks and a motorway extending from Alexandria to Aswan will serve the new communities, he said.