Studio complex

Within the coming weeks Egypt will celebrate the official inauguration of the largest studio complex in the Middle East.

The 22-building scheme, which cost L.E 500 million (about $150 million U.S.), is built on an area of 19 feddans (acres) inside the Egyptian arts academy in the Al-Haram area.

Egypt's culture minister, Farouk Hosni, said in statements to the Middle East News Agency: "The project to develop the arts academy in Al-Haram is one of the biggest and most important cultural projects in Egypt in 1998."

The government, he continued, was eager to provide the new studio complex with the state - of the arts equipment to help "enhance Egypt's leading position in all artistic and culture domains," Al-Wafd reported.