Egypt's Al-Arish port now under military control

The Egyptian post-coup interim president Adli Mansour transferred the assets of Sinai’s Al-Arish port from civilian to military control three days before leaving office, the official gazette reported Monday.

According to the presidential decree issued by Mansour, the assets of Al-Arish port have been fully transferred from the administration of the civilian Port Authority of Port Said to the Ministry of Defence and Military Production.

The decree pointed out that the minister of defence had requested from Mansour to transfer the ownership of the port to his ministry under the pretext that the area where the port is located is of strategic and military importance.

The Al-Arish port, which was planned to be a vital port for the development of Sinai peninsula, includes two plots of land with a length of 1,100 meters and width of 95 meters east of Abi Saql in the town of El Arish, and another piece of land with an area of 63 meters width and 96 meters length, as well as a smaller land in front of the main gate of the port.

Following the July 3 military coup, the interim governments of Hazem Beblawi and Ibrahim Mahlab handed over the management of desert and agricultural roads to the army, in addition to assigning the army to supervise projects in different fields, including the building of wheat silos and housing projects. Moreover, the army maintains ownership of vast areas of desert lands adjacent to major cities.