Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab attended Wednesday the signing ceremony of a $500-million loan agreement with the World Bank, for the social housing program.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the third COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit, which was opened Wednesday in Sharm el Sheih.

The loan agreement was signed by International Cooperation Minister Naghlaa el Ahwani, while the project agreement was signed by Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouli.

From the side of the World Bank, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem signed the two agreements.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim attended the signing ceremony.

The social housing program aims to establish one million housing units for low-income residents and youths over five years, Madbouli said.

He further said that the program mainly depends on providing the necessary fund, which is required for implementation.

This came as part of an initiative, which was recently launched by the Central Bank of Egypt, he added.

The program will increase the opportunities for the low-income brackets to get adequate housing, he said.

Ahwani, for her part, said that the project will be implemented through the Social Housing Financing Fund, adding that the state will be responsible of repaying the loan from the World Bank.

The period for repaying the loan reaches 35 years with a five-year grace period, she added.