Egypt receives second payment of $14bn from UAE for Ras Al-Hikma project

This picture taken shows a view of the exterior facade of the new headquarters of Egypt’s Central Bank at the New Administrative Capital megaproject about 45 kilometres east of the current capital Cairo on August 1, 2023 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

Egypt received $14 billion from the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday as a second payment for the development of Ras Al-Hikma peninsula, a cabinet statement said, Reuters reports.

The deal with Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, ADQ, to develop the peninsula, 200 km west of Alexandria, includes a total of $35 billion in investments and is one of the biggest deals of its kind.

Egypt has also started working with the UAE to waive an Emirati deposit of $6 billion in the Egyptian Central Bank and convert its value to the equivalent in Egyptian pounds (EGP), Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, added in the statement.

Egypt received $5 billion as a first payment in the property development deal in February and another $5 billion tranche on 1 March.

The cabinet said, in February, that the UAE and the Egyptian Central Bank were working to convert $11 billion worth of UAE deposits into Egyptian pounds.

Egypt has been struggling with a prolonged shortage of foreign currency and rapid inflation and the cash injection from the first two tranches helped alleviate currency pressures.

READ: Sisi: Dollar shortage crisis in Egypt still a challenge for the State

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