Greek Community of Alexandria

Category: ECONOMY

News about economy

  • EuroAfrica cable enters crucial phase

    EuroAfrica cable enters crucial phase

    The EuroAfrica Interconnector, a planned subsea electric cable connecting the Egyptian, Cypriot and Greek power grids to continental Europe has entered a crucial phase of conducting project studies with a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding among all parties having taken place on Monday.

    The officials attending the signing ceremony in Cairo endorsed their commitment to implementing the EuroAfrica Interconnector energy bridge connecting Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece with the European electric network with 2000MW.
    The aim of EuroAfrica is to offer significant economic and geopolitical benefits to the involved countries and contribute to the European Union’s target for 10 per cent of electricity interconnection between member states.

    President of EuroAfrica Interconnector Nasos Ktorides said that this inspired partnership can only bring benefits to the three participating nations.

    “Greece will increase its energy efficiency, and will become a major player in the European energy arena, Cyprus will be an electricity hub in the south eastern Mediterranean and Egypt will become an important energy hub for Africa and electricity carrier for the European continent,” he said.

    In a packed news conference attended by the highest officials of Egypt’s ministries of Energy, Electricity and Foreign Affairs, the Egyptian minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Dr Mohamed Shaker highlighted the importance of the submarine electric cable as part of his country’s strategic plan for economic development and energy security.

    Shaker emphasised both his personal commitment and that of the Egyptian government to bringing this great venture to fruition.

    Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called a meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Shaker, where he expressed the government’s commitment to the project.

    Shaker announced after the meeting that El-Sisi requested that he be regularly informed on the progress of the project on a weekly basis and to ensure that the whole project is successfully completed within the desired timeframes.

    At the signing ceremony, the Egyptian power company chief Gaber Desouky described it as an historic moment, which brings Egypt closer to the day when it is connected to the pan-European electricity grid.

    In a brief address, the ambassadors of Cyprus, Charis Moritsis, and Greece, Michael Christos Diamessis, also expressed the support of their governments in taking the project forward.

    The conclusion of the necessary studies will mark the beginning of the implementation of the interconnector electric cable, which is expected to bolster the three countries’ energy security and independence, and allow them to export power to European countries with an energy deficit.

    (cyprus-mail.com)

  • Total to start exploratory drilling off Cyprus with Greece following

    Total to start exploratory drilling off Cyprus with Greece following

    The discovery of natural resources in Israel and Egypt has motivated big companies to look into the Eastern Mediterranean closer. The French oil exploration company Total is ready to start exploratory marine drilling off Cyprus.

    What made this possible was the discovery of the Egypt’s Zohr deposit. Experts argue that the chances for deposits of similar value in Cyprus’ neighboring Block 11 have really increased.

    Three companies so far have been awarded exploration licenses by Cyprus: Total, ExxonMobil and ENI.

    Total also plans to start similar drilling activities to Greece as well, in the Ionian Sea. A delegation from Total visited Greece a couple of weeks ago to discuss the relevant details with members of the Greek government.

    Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company CEO Charles Ellinas in an interview to New Europe on the 27th of January was asked if the massive Zohr deposit, the largest ever field discovered in the eastern Mediterranean, could affect negatively the export of hydrocarbons from Cyprus and Greece. His reply was that “it has affected Cyprus in that Cyprus was hoping to sell its gas to Egypt both for the domestic market and for liquefaction and export to Europe as LNG. This has now gone away because of commercial factors but also because of Zohr”, but “ the discovery of Zohr opened up the possibility of more discoveries in carbonate formations. “Total is drilling mid-2017 in block 11, adjacent to Zohr, and there are reasonable indications for a gas discovery”.

    Asked if both Greek and Cyprus hydrocarbons could be jointly exported to Europe and if they do need Israel as well, Ellinas noted that the problem for Cypriot and Israeli gas is commercial. “By the time it reaches Europe, by pipeline or as LNG, it is to expensive to compete with gas prices prevailing in Europe, particularly Russian gas. And these prices will be there for the longer term – at least to 2025,” he said, adding that if gas discoveries are made in Greece they will have a better chance. It is closer to Europe and by then there will be infrastructure in place to transport it.

    (www.tornosnews.gr)

  • Egypt sets up new fund to revive tourism industry

    Egypt sets up new fund to revive tourism industry

    Egypt has set up a new fund worth 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($267 million) to upgrade hotels, tourist resorts and Nile floating boats across the country as part of efforts to revive its ailing tourism industry.

    The new fund, which was announced by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Dec. 26, would finance maintenance and upgrades at hotels, tourist resorts and other tourism facilities with an interest rate of 10%. The CBE also decided to extend the grace period for tourism investors to pay their debts until 2018.

    Funds would also be offered to investors in accordance with a set of rules, including the investor’s level of seriousness and the benefits that will increase tourism flow to the country.

    The new measures came after a meeting between Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer and tourism investors in South Sinai during which perils of investment in the tourism sector were discussed. During the meeting, Amer promised to solve the problems Egyptian investors face in the tourism industry in order to give a push to the staggering sector.

    According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism, Egypt incurred monthly losses of 3.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($170 million) directly and indirectly after the downing of a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015. Following the deadly incident, a number of foreign countries, including Russia, the UK and Germany, imposed travel bans on flights to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

    Tourism experts say the new fund is an ambitious step to reinvigorate hotels that have not undergone maintenance and upgrades for six years as well as help them serve the expected return of tourism and travel flow to Egypt.

    “The new fund would enable hotels and tourist resorts to well receive tourist arrivals, which are forecast to increase in the coming period,” Hossam Akawy, a tourism expert and a member of the Tourism Investors’ Association in the Red Sea, told Al-Monitor.

    Germany, Denmark and Finland lifted their travel bans on flights to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh last year.

    Akawy said that there are widespread expectations that the tourism industry would be back on its feet this year. “That is why hotels and tourist facilities need to get a face-lift,” he added.

    Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said last week that Russia would likely resume direct flights with Egypt in January, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. Sokolov added that the decision to resume flights will be made after Russian officials revise reports by Russian experts who have assessed Egyptian airport security. Since the Russian plane crash, Egypt has been putting in place tighter security measures at all its airports in order to draw tourists back to the North African country.

    In a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi late last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country intends to resume flights with Cairo in the very near future.

    Akawy said that the setting up of the fund came as a lifebuoy for owners of hotels and tourist resorts in the country, as banks had stopped funding the tourism sector due to instability and financing risks.

    In March 2016, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism announced it would not allow the establishment of more tourism companies for a year due to declining tourism flow.

    Adel Salah Nagi, another tourism expert, said that the new fund is a positive move. However, he added that it should have included support to other aspects of the whole tourism system, including marketing and tour operators. “Tourism is not only about hotels. There are other areas that also need to be upgraded and developed, especially marketing and tour operators,” he told Al-Monitor.

    Nagi said that the government also has to further facilitate travel measures for tourists and launch direct flights with countries that Egypt is not directly connected with. He called upon the authorities to cancel the entry visa fees. On-arrival visa fees are estimated at $25.

    Tourism has long been a main contributor to the national income. Before the January 25 Revolution in 2011, one in 10 people in the workforce worked in the tourism sector and it generated approximately $12.5 billion in revenue.

    At its peak, Egypt boasted nearly 15 million tourists a year. By 2013, tourism numbers had fallen by one-third to under 10 million a year and have undoubtedly slumped further since as the 2015 downing of the Russian jet that had taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh prompted foreign holidaymakers to book their vacations elsewhere.

    However, experts are upbeat about the outlook of Egypt’s tourism industry in 2017. According to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, tourist arrivals jumped by 7% in October 2016 compared with a month earlier.

    Minister of Tourism Yehia Rashed said that 2017 would see a massive recovery in the Egyptian tourism sector as foreign airlines from the major markets, including Russia, the UK and Germany, are expected to resume flights to Egypt’s tourist attractions.

    Tourism revenues from those three markets, the minister added, represented more than 40% of the total tourism flow to Egypt in recent seasons.

    According to the Tourism Ministry data, Egypt attracted about 5.3 million tourists by the end of 2016 despite ongoing challenges.
    (www.al-monitor.com)

  • French Total preparing to drill off Cyprus for natural gas, says ministry source

    French Total preparing to drill off Cyprus for natural gas, says ministry source

    French energy company Total is preparing to make an exploratory marine drilling off Cyprus, a Ministry of Commerce and Energy source said on Saturday.

    Total, along with Italy’s ENI and Exxon Mobil, was awarded licenses for hydrocarbons exploration by Cyprus last month.

    The ministry source said Total plans to drill in block 11 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, which shares a boundary to the south with the giant Egyptian Zohr natural gas well, the largest ever field discovered in the eastern Mediterranean.

    “We do not know yet when the drill will start, but we were notified that it will be soon,” the source said.

    The Zohr discovery by ENI reinvigorated interest in the eastern Mediterranean natural gas as the drilling was done in carbonate layers, whereas previous successful natural gas drilling was carried out in lime layers.

    A Total official said recently that the company’s interest in Cypriot block 11 was prompted by its proximity to the Zohr discovery, estimated to contain 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.

    Cypriot experts have said that block 11 sits on an undersea mountain range known as Eratosthenis, which was considered to be the source of all hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean.

    The news about the impending drilling comes as efforts to solve the Cyprus problem are nearing a peak, with guarantor countries Greece, Turkey and Britain joining in discussions about security arrangements.

    Turkey objects to drilling by Cyprus without the active participation of Turkish Cypriots, who pulled out of the government and the state 53 years ago.

    The discovery of natural gas in Cyprus’ continental shelf by United States-based Noble Energy and nearby discoveries by Israel is considered by analysts to be a factor strongly influencing Turkey’s interest in solving the Cyprus dispute.

    Cyprus and Egypt signed a framework agreement last August for the transfer of natural gas discovered by Noble Energy via pipe to Egypt’s liquefaction terminals. The gas field, about 85 km off Cyprus’ southern shores, is estimated to contain 4.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

    Some analysts say that Turkey counts on joining in on the proceeds from the gas by offering facilities for a gas pipe through its territory to Europe.
    An alternative route for the pipe is from the gas fields to Cyprus and Greece and from there to Prindisi in southern Italy.

    This route had originally been excluded because of the high cost involved in the project which calls for a pipe 2,000 km long, most of it on the sea bed, capable of a yearly capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of gas.

    But recent revised estimates by the European Union lowered the cost to around 5 billion euros, which is considered by specialists to be a viable proposition.

    The director general of the energy ministries of Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy are to meet in Brussels on Monday to consider plans for the project.

    Their talks will prepare a meeting of the Energy Ministers of the four countries scheduled for next month in Jerusalem.

    (famagusta-gazette.com)