Sun World's Partnership in Southern Egypt

With 95 percent of its population living on approximately five percent of the land, Egypt has launched a major national project, spearheaded by President Hosni Mubarak, to extend its development beyond the historical boundaries of the Nile Delta and into its southern desert region. The cornerstone of this urban and agricultural development effort is the South Valley Project, a plan to ultimately irrigate more than 500,000 acres of undeveloped desert land.

Since 1996, the government of Egypt has committed several billion dollars to the South Valley Project, retaining an international consortium to construct the necessary infrastructure needed to support an increased population, such as transportation corridors, electric utilities and social services. In addition, the government has nearly completed the region’s water delivery systems, which include the world’s largest water pumping station and the Sheikh Zayed Canal. Ultimately, the 43-mile (70 km) Sheikh Zayed Canal will divert water from Egypt’s Lake Nasser, the reservoir formed on the Nile River by the Aswan High Dam, and will convey more than seven million acre-feet of water annually, or more than 20,000 acre-feet a day. By comparison, the Colorado River Aqueduct, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, conveys 1.3 million acre-feet per year.

The Sheikh Zayed Canal will convey water to the first of four South Valley sites beginning in 2001. With its infrastructure commitments nearly accomplished, the government of Egypt anticipates that private sector investments will reclaim the South Valley desert.

At the request of Egyptian President Mubarak, His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud considered making a private, commercial investment in the development of the South Valley Project. His Royal Highness has an international reputation for making a series of successful investments in a rapidly increasing number of the world’s largest publicly traded companies. 

His Royal Highness commissioned an independent project team that set out to determine the economic and technical feasibility of a large scale, export-oriented agricultural development. Upon concluding that a project of this magnitude was a commercially attractive business venture, the Kingdom Agricultural Development Company (KADCO), a company which is currently 100% controlled by His Royal Highness, purchased 100,000 acres from the government of Egypt and named it the Tushka Project. To date, KADCO has committed $300 million in equity to the development of the Tushka Project, one of the largest planned agricultural developments in the world.

The Tushka Project will grow high-value permanent crops, such as stone fruit, grapes and citrus, that will be imported into Europe and the Middle East.

In June 1999, California-based Sun World International, Inc.  was selected after an exhaustive international search to serve as KADCO’s strategic partner in developing and managing the Tushka Project. As one of California's largest vertically integrated agricultural firms, Sun World specializes in desert farming, international marketing and the development and production of proprietary crops, all of which uniquely qualify it to lead this undertaking.

Sun World’s involvement in this project of international significance has added economic benefits for California’s business community. The large scale of the Tushka Project, an estimated $700-800 million undertaking, requires that Sun World utilize the expertise of California’s highly developed engineering, irrigation and nursery business sectors. It is anticipated that a number of California-based enterprises will receive contracts to assist in the development of the Tushka Project site.