Egypt to welcome bids worth over $2.95bn this year

Egypt is expected to welcome bids for 8 to 10 tenders this year worth a total of over EGP 20 billion (USD 2.95 billion), Prime Minister Hisham Kandil announced on Sunday.  The announcement was made as Egypt is set to welcome foreign investment in its vital sectors, Finance Minister Al-Mursi Al-Sayed Hegazy told attendees of the PPP Investment Summit in Cairo, on behalf of the prime minister.  Public private partnership, or PPP, is a term that refers to public services that are funded through ventures between the government and one or more private businesses, and Kandil said that Egypt had adopted a law in 2010 to organize this relationship.  \"PPP provide many advantages as they carry large burdens off of the state in carrying out projects, in addition to providing the public with prices for services conditioned by the government - that the private sector must abide by, \" he added.  Meanwhile, Egypt plans to increase the price of energy provided to privately-owned factories, however, it intends to keep prices as-is for companies which provide a social role, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatim Saleh said.  \"The country carries huge burdens in subsidizing energy and seeks to restructure laws on this within a number of agreements with economically productive sectors, resulting in a fair price for energy,\" he said on the fringes of the talks.  Saleh had earlier agreed the formation of a company led by Canadian and U.S. -based Egyptian businessmen of which Egypt\'s local Ahly Bank will own a 10pct share.