Egypt invests in Sinai to stunt extremism

Sinai Reconstruction Agency allocated 120 million EGP Cairo – Sameh Fadel The Egyptian government announced a list of plans to reconstruct Sinai that will allow Bedouins to own land. Roads will also be built in the north and south of the Peninsula.Support and recruitment of militants will be put to an end in the region through reconciliation with Bedouins. For this to happen, the Sinai Reconstruction Agency allocated 120 million EGP to the region for the current financial year of 2012/2013. The agency has so far received 14 million EGP to implement projects in the first quarter of the financial year.
The Sinai reconstruction plan comprises of six projects. Four are road building projects which will better connect the peninsula, boost trade and create new settlement areas. The remaining two projects are to construct 104m² houses and a village for Bedouins and young graduates.In recent years, Sinai has been the site of several terror attacks on tourists, and more recently armed forces. Investigations have shown these were mainly motivated by a resentment of the poverty faced by many Bedouins in the area. Attacking the tourist industry was viewed as a method of damaging the industry so the government would pay more attention to their situation.