Details of a previously undisclosed 12-year-old contract that enabled Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Waleed bin Talal to buy nearly 104,000 acres in Egypt's western desert have spread anger and dissent among independent and opposition lawmakers.
Contents of the 1998 contract signed between Talal's Kingdom Holding Co. and the Egyptian General Authority for Rehabilitation Projects and Agricultural Development (GARPAD) were published by the Al Masry Al Youm daily newspaper on Wednesday, alongside a photocopy of the original document.
The newspaper reported that the Saudi tycoon paid the bargain price of about 50 Egyptian pounds ($9.10) per acre and was guaranteed low fees for unlimited access to water and electricity on the sprawling piece of land. The real estate is part of the Egyptian government's New Valley project, which started in 1997 with the aim of reclaiming half a million acres of desert.
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