Can a land-for-cash deal save Egypt’s economy?

Africa Daily

The Ras al-Hikma peninsula on the north coast of Egypt is going to become a new city. But it’s going to be built and managed by another country, the United Arab Emirates.

In a deal signed earlier this year, Egypt gave the UAE the right to develop this 170 square kilometre area in return for $35 billion dollars. The Egyptian economy was in a critical position, and needed a quick cash injection to get it out of trouble, and the Ras al-Hikma deal was seen as the solution. But it is a very unusual deal. Both because of the amount of money involved, but also because it gives another country the right to essentially build and own a city in Egypt. And it’s not known whether it provides a long-term solution to Egypt’s economic problems. Presenter: Mpho Lakaje Guests: Wael Gamal, from ‘The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights’ a human rights think tank based in Cairo, Yomn Hamaky an Economics Professor at Ain Shams university in Egypt, and Ahmed Ghoneim, Professor of Economics at Cairo University.