A joint US and Saudi Arabian investment project is to build a $3.3bn “Disneyland-style” theme park in Egypt.
The 2055-hectare park will be constructed in Matrouh, a governorate in the northwest of Egypt, according to a report by the Egypt Independent. Development will be led by Entertainment World Company (EWC).
Alaa Abu Zaid, governor of Matrouh, and Lisa Marie Stephen, managing director of EWC in the Middle East and Africa, signed the contracts at a ceremony earlier this week.
The project will include a zoo, an aqua park, medical and sports cities, hotels and an educational centre. It was first announced in November last year, however details regarding investors and what would be included in the park were not revealed at that time.
Stephen said that it is one of EWC’s largest investments and will be completed in several stages over 10 years. The first stage is expected to complete within two years.
In 2017, Egypt’s Parliament passed an investment law to streamline business and attract international investors. It includes a 50% tax discount on investments made in underdeveloped areas and government support for connecting utilities to new projects.
Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr, who attended the contract signing, said that the theme park will be the largest foreign investment project agreed after the adoption of the new law.
Image: c. Glen Scarborough
