Egypt signed on Wednesday an agreement with the UK-based Control Risks firm to evaluate Egyptian airports over two stages, state news agency MENA reported.
During the first phase, the global independent consultancy company will be tasked with the evaluation of three airports –Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Marsa Alam — at an approximate cost of $700,000, Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said.
According to the minister, the financing will be provided by Egypt’s tourism support fund – an investment fund launched in 2014 which aims to raise $1 billion from local and Arab Gulf investors to improve the ailing tourism sector.
The contract with Control Risks comes to address western concerns over security meassures at Egyptian airports following the deadly Russian plane crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last October that killed all 224 people on board.
A number of countries, including Russia and the United Kingdom, have suspended flights to Egypt’s Sharm citing safety concerns.
The Islamist IS group claimed that it downed the plane.
A Russian investigation concluded that the downing of the plane was a criminal act.
However, Egypt, which has not yet released its final report on the disaster, maintains that its “technical investigative committee has so far not received any evidence indicating criminal or terrorist activity.”
source: Ahram Online
