USD 150 bn for development of Algerian public sector

Algerian Prime Minister Ahmad Ouyahia announced on 2nd December 2009 that investments of more than USD 150 bn would be allocated to the development of the Algerian public sector. He explained that the investments would be directed at developing Algeria in several sectors. He added the implementation of the development projects would begin as of 2010 and that economic, social and political reforms would go along with these investments to enhance living conditions for Algerian citizens.

Bahrain’s BHD 137 m port officially inaugurated

H.H. Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, officially opened Bahrain’s BHD 137 m Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) on 6th December 2009. KBSP stretches over an area of 110 hectares in the northeast of Bahrain and has a storage capacity of 54,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The port has a total quayside of 1,800 meters and is designed to accommodate a container capacity, as well as passengers, general break-bulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo.

Car sales on the rise

A report from the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC) recorded a year-on-year increase in passenger car sales by 25% in October 2009. Although the 16,212 new cars will add to the ranks of the two million vehicles already circulating on the streets in and outside Cairo, the jump in sales is signalling increased consumer confidence in Egypt‘s economic stability. Ali Tawfik, Chairman of the Egyptian Auto Feeders Association, confirmed that Egyptian consumers are feeling bullish and thus are looking to purchase cars.

Oil production increased in the Shukheir Bay Field

Production on the Shukheir Bay-5 ST, in the Shukheir Bay Field of the Shuhkeir Marine Gulf of Suez concession, has been increased from 60 to 1,600 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) from the Lower Rudeis sandstone. This raises total production at National Petroleum Company (NPC) to 1,908 barrels of oil per day.

Egypt records USD 1.7 bn FDI

Egypt received USD 1.7 bn in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of the fiscal year that ends in June 2010, the central bank said in a statement. The country also registered a current account deficit of USD 1.5 bn in the same period, and a net portfolio investment inflow of USD 1.2 bn. The country registered a net outflow of USD 3.5 bn the same period a year earlier.

Allocation of USD 2 bn for inner-city public transportation

The Iranian parliament adopted a credit line amounting to USD 2 bn, allocated from the national foreign exchange account for the expansion of Tehran’s and other cities’ public transportation. According to the act, the government is required to give USD 1 bn to Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company to procure equipment and set up rails. The Iranian government is also planning to give USD 700 m to acquire subway equipment for the other major Iranian cities and to allocate USD 300 m to carry out their public transportation projects.

Iraq and Jordan strike agreement on new pipeline

A spokesperson from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said that within the context of their ongoing work toward increasing Iraq’s oil exports, an agreement has been reached between the Baghdad and Amman administrations to transport Iraqi oil through a pipeline to Jordan’s Aqaba port. At present, Iraq exports four million barrels of oil through the Kirkuk-Yumurtalýk pipeline and through Basra Harbour.

Investment plan to build 500,000 residential units adopted

The Iraqi Council of Ministers has approved an investment plan for the construction of 500,000 residential units throughout Iraq. In addition, the Council of Ministers has authorised the Minister of Finance to sign any complementary contracts with respect to the deals to purchase airplanes from Bombardier Aerospace and Boeing, according the official spokesperson of the Iraqi government.