Egypt's military is pumping LE400 million of its funds into North Sinai development projects to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Israel's return of the territory, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Sinai Liberation Day, 25 April, is a national holiday that marks Israel's final military withdrawal from the peninsula in 1982.
The North Sinai projects detailed in the Al-Ahram report are worth LE400 million ($66.6 million) and involve developing residential and industrials sectors, as well as infrastructure, in the border governorate.
Plans include:
Building five 'pioneer' villages which will include craft workshops and homes for local Bedouin
Restoring homes, building new petrol stations, repairing public utilities and digging irrigation wells
Spending around LE230 million ($38.3m) in developing the port at Al-Arish, creating new jobs for citizens in the governorate capital
An extra 1,000 housing units in Eastern Al-Arish
