Monday, October 29, 2007

Tourism: Auctioned tourist development land causes concern

Egyptian Gazette (Salah Attia)

N.B. The story will expire shortly on the above URL.

Auctions of land prepared for tourist development projects caused more worries in the tourist sector this week. Tourist experts and leading investors, who were polled by Travel Page, warned seriously that these auctions would hamper the much-sought tourist development drive in the country.

These sceptics said that buyers of auctioned land would refuse to set up projects and prefer to sell the bare-land for much more expensive price after years. The worried investors and experts also rejected the idea of auctioning land in remote areas in the country. Mr. Hamada Abul Enein, a leading investor, suggested that auctioned land should be located in areas at the heart of the city, such as the Tahrir Square or on the Nile. “Auctioning land located thousands of kilometres away from Cairo will undermine prospects of tourist developments,” Abul Enein added. He remarked that the idea of auctioning land for tourist development was basically motivated by auctions held by the Ministry of Housing and Utilities on the one hand and the the Holding Company for Tourism on the other. However, he protested that auctions of tourist development land were Unwisely proposed. He explained: “The Ministry of Housing holds auctions of land prepared for expensive residential units and trade centres. The Ministry of Housing does not have plans to construct development projects or provide a new tax resources.” According to his arguments, tourist development projects alone provide new tax resources and offer jobs in the market. Criticising auctions of tourist development land held in Ain Sokhna recently, Abul Enein continued: “Such auctions should not be re-organised.”

See the above page for the full story (you will need to be quick - the story will expire shortly).



No comments: