Egypt withdraws land from businessmen

Egypt's government has withdrawn 2,100 hectares of land from some of the country's leading businessmen because they failed to develop it, a minister who heads a committee investigating failures in industry said on Sunday.
The land was "given to investors through contracts signed in 1996 in which it was indicated that it is essential that investments be carried out there within ten years," Electricity Minister Hassan Younes told reporters. The land to the north-west of the Suez Canal was withdrawn from businessmen including steel magnate Ahmed Ezz and telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris.