Poor Huts instead of Flourishing Resorts

The national program to develop the Sinai has resulted in the building of some infrastructure, but has not succeeded in attracting investors to the region, except for a few committed visionaries. Frederik Richter reports

Whoever observes the sunset in the middle of the Sinai is in for an unbelievable sight. The light, broken up by jagged mountain ridges, changes from minute to minute. It plays on the cliffs of the peninsula until it looks as if the mountains themselves are moving, accompanying the traveler on a search for a better future. Yet, the impression is deceptive. The Sinai is not moving forwards, but stagnating as a region in terms of its economic development, despite its potential in tourism, agriculture, natural resources, and minerals.

After the serious terrorist attack in Dahab in April, the third such attack on the peninsula within the last 18 months, a furious debate broke out in the Egyptian press on the lack of development in Sinai.

One comes across pristine beaches bordered by palm trees and endless sand dunes as far as the eye can see. Yet, the road on the north coast of the Sinai between Port Said and El Arish, some 40 kilometers west of the Gaza Strip, is not surrounded by flourishing resorts, but rather by poor huts, which are gradually replaced by dilapidated apartment houses the closer one gets to El Arish. More than 20 years after Israel returned the peninsula to Egypt, many of the city's inhabitants still do not have running water.

Even the few resorts located on the Mediterranean have to make due with quotas on their water supply. Appreciable investment in infrastructure and tourism has only occurred in Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea, where tourists are attracted by the coral reef and where even President Hosni Mubarak spends time and meets with international state guests.

A few committed visionaries

"The white cement of the Sinai is amazing because of its quality," says Rattab's advisor Essam Zahran. In addition, the Sinai offers plenty of valuable marble, granite, and silicone sand, from which glass is produced. The sand is currently exported for around 10 dollars a ton. Profits could rise to 60 dollars a ton if it were washed and packed here. This business in now done in Turkey, from where the sand is then re-exported to Italy. There has been no investment in the necessary facilities in Sinai.

A few kilometers east of the Suez Canal, not far from Ismaileyya, lies El Hoda, the largest agricultural facility in Sinai. El Hoda produces a wide variety of organic fruit and vegetables and exports them to Europe. Land in Sinai is cheaper to purchase and no other region in Egypt receives so many hours of sunlight a year. "That is why the grapes here are ripe so early, and we can sell them on the world market for a high price," says the farm's director Mahmoud Nasser. Dates, peaches, apricots, and especially olives also grow well in Sinai. No other Mediterranean region has such excellent conditions for olive cultivation as the Sinai.

There are great plans – but only on paper

Yet, in order to produce lucrative olive oil, a great deal of know-how and investment is necessary, and this is acquired only gradually. The government, in particular, has not succeeded in directing sufficient water to the Sinai to realize the region's enormous agricultural potential. A plan to extend the Salam Canal, which pumps water from the Nile under the Suez Canal, to the interior of the peninsula has existed for years, but only on paper.

One reason why Egyptian businessmen are afraid of investing in Sinai is that the peninsula is firmly in the grips of the security apparatus, consisting of the army, police, and secret services. An official with the Governorate of North Sinai says that over twenty tourism projects are waiting for authorization from the army to use land on the Mediterranean coast. Businessmen familiar with the Sinai security services report that even they regard the development of the peninsula as the best guarantee for security. This may be the case with respect to foreign enemies, who would only be able to advance slowly through thickly settled areas.

However, terrorism poses an internal threat that is difficult to control. In addition, the special permits needed to travel down many roads provides the security apparatus with welcome extra income, as has been frequently reported by visitors to the region. Since the Egyptian police are poorly trained and scantily equipped, they time and again resort to disproportional means, such as blocking whole roads to the transport of goods. After the attack on a hotel in Taba in October 2004, they indiscriminately arrested thousands all over the peninsula.

In the final analysis, the limited development of the Sinai, which links two continents and two seas, is tied to regional development. Essan Zahran says that during his company's original planning in the mid-90s, when the peace process had reached its highpoint, total cement production was expected to be sold within the region. Today, regional sales make up only one third, with the remainder evenly sold to the rest of Egypt and reserved for export.

"Peace would be the key for development in Sinai. What we are doing today is just laying the groundwork for preparations."

Frederik Richter

Translated from the German by John Bergeron

Qantara.de

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