Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will invest more than $800 million in hotels in Egypt, as confirmed by the investment ministry in Cairo.
The announcement came following the parliament in May adopting a new law aimed at attracting foreign investment with the authorities seeking to revive Egypt’s struggling economy.
The ministry said in a statement that Bin Talal that he would invest in hotels in several locations.
Tourism in the Arab world’s most populous nation is yet to bounce back from the 2011 uprising that toppled long time ruler Hosni Mubarak. The fall in tourist arrivals worsened after the Islamic State group said it bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from Sharm el-Sheikh in a 2015 crash that killed all 224 people on board.
The Saudi investment would include expanding the Four Seasons resort in Sharm in the southern Sinai, transforming it into “the biggest resort in the world”. New hotels would also be built in the Mediterranean town of El-Alamein and in Madinaty east of Cairo.
The ministry said the amount of Saudi investment was “expected to surpass about $800 million.”
