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CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt unveiled plans on Sunday to build a desert city that will see about 7% of Egypt's annual Nile River quota rerouted from fertile delta land to pass by upscale glass-fronted housing units and eventually a large agricultural project.
Egypt, facing mounting water shortages, power constraints, and a deepening economic crisis, wants the development to help increase the value of state assets and boost land prices through "non-traditional, innovative ideas," Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement announcing the project.
About 10 million cubic metres of Nile water will flow daily to the 6.8 million sq metre (2.63 sq mile) Jirian city, 42 km (26 miles) west of downtown Cairo, helping irrigate a 2.28 million acre New Delta agricultural project, developers said.
Three private developers signed the official agreement, with the state represented by Mostakbal Misr for Sustainable Development, a military-affiliated agency. The project will include residential units, commercial zones, a yacht marina and a free economic zone.
(Reporting by Mohamed Ezz, Editing by William Maclean)
