The Saudi Fund for Development has signed three loans with the Egyptian government totalling £E1.4bn ($229m).

The first loan, worth £E547m, involves building food silos to ensure food security. The second loan, valued at £E486m, involves upgrading irrigation and drainage networks across the region. The final loan is worth £E365m and covers a drinking water project in Nasr City in Cairo.

In November, Egypt took an important step towards securing a $4.8bn loan from the Washington-headquartered IMF to support the country’s economic recovery.

The fund has reached a preliminary agreement on the loan following a review of Egypt’s planned economic reforms, carried out by an IMF delegation during a visit to the country in mid-November.