The new “landmark” of Hurghada was presented as part of the “City Tours” program at the Egyptian resort. Tourists were bussed to the new fruit and vegetable market. Local officials are promoting the new El Dahar complex as a new “civilized” market and hope it will attract tourists.
According to Al Masry Al Youm, travel companies have included the new market in Hurghada City morning programs, which are organized so that tourists can familiarize themselves with tourist areas, sights, and markets. Experts of the publication personally visited one such excursion, observed “many tourists visiting the market and buying Egyptian fruits” and praised “the state of cleanliness and order in the market.”
As Mr. Amr Hanafi, the governor of the Red Sea province, where Hurghada is located, said, the new market should become “the first civilized market in the territory of the governorate”, the next stage of “civilizational development and the new strategic plan for the development of Hurghada.”
The resort is getting rid of spontaneous markets with their unpredictable prices, so travel companies have decided to host a new market as part of City Tours so that tourists can get to know Egyptian fruits and buy what they need from them, the official also noted.
In turn, the head of Hurghada, Ashraf Al-Beyya, confirmed that the new market was created “to provide services to citizens in a civilized and proper manner.” It was also created as part of the state’s efforts to control prices, which include, among other things, a plan to eliminate the “street vendor phenomenon” and curb random markets and related nuisances, from traffic jams and aesthetic disfigurement to fraud and petty crime. He also added that the design of the market is in line with the new strategic plan of the city of Hurghada and is in step with the urban development and construction taking place in the streets and squares of the coastal city.
The details of the new market were also reported to the publication by Barakat Al-Qadi, its director. He explained that the complex covers an area of about 10,000 square meters, is financed by the Red Sea Governorate, and controlled by the Red Sea Housing Authority. In addition to the fruit and produce market, the complex includes home appliance stores, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as technical facilities, including large refrigerators.