Sovereign Fund of Egypt to Transform the Historic Area Under the Citadel

On Wednesday, Egypt approved a plan to renovate a 56,000 sqm deserted area under the Salah El Din Al Ayouby citadel to be funded by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. The area located behind the Azab gate of the citadel will be converted into a mixed-cultural centre.

As it stands now, the area is home to warehouses which were built during the rule of Mohamed Ali, the Ottoman governor of Egypt between 1805 and 1849.

This project is part of the continued efforts to revitalize and develop Egypt’s tourism sector. The area will be leased to the Egyptian Sovereign fund under a 49-year concession. Within that period of time, the fund can run the area and develop it. The initial proposal put forth plans for spice markets, a museum, a plaza area selling traditional Egyptian food and a performance space, amongst other features.

Ayman Soliman, CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, shared with Reuters that the fund turned to business mogul Samih Sawiris to join them in rebuilding the area, with both the fund and Sawiris planning to invest EGP 2 billion in total. He commented that the warehouses have negatively impacted the land aesthetic, but is hopeful regarding their plans to reverse the damage.

According to Reuters, Soliman also commented on future plans to turn to private investors to fund the development of other governmental assets.
What other areas would you like the government to renovate? Let us know in the comments below.

***Photo credits go to @nich_koh.