The Egyptian government has announced that 14 out of 25 joint ventures have qualified for the right to participate in the Suez Canal Development Project, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram...Former-Member of Parliament and member of the Popular Front for the Suez Canal Abdel Hameed Kamal stated that the project in whole is a positive step, but should have been announced only after dialogue with representatives of the people in the region, a step which still needs to be taken. “It is essential for the contractors to understand the needs of the area, including the most-needed industries, the importance of labour-intensive projects, environmental regulations and so forth, in addition to lessons from the mistakes of previous projects in the region.”