The Egyptian government was pursuing further sale of state assets after signing a $35 billion deal in February to sell beach land to the United Arab Emirates, the finance minister has said.

The government would continue a programme of budget tightening and was aiming to keep the country’s debt at under 90% of gross domestic product, Mohamed Maait told a news conference on Sunday.

Last month, the Middle East county agreed to sell the development rights to Ras al-Hikma, a prime Mediterranean resort destination, to Abu Dhabi for $24 billion and expected more than $20 billion from an International Monetary Fund-led package.

The package includes $3 billion in funding from the World Bank, the finance minister said.

Ras al-Hikma lies about 200 km (124 miles) west of Alexandria in an area of upscale tourist resorts and white sand beaches popular with wealthy Egyptians during the summer months. The deal is the ‘largest foreign direct investment in an urban development project in the country’s modern history’, Egypt PM Mostafa Madbouly had said.

“The positive part is the Ras al-Hikma deal, a not-small portion of which will enter the general budget in pounds,” Maait said, “the total deficit will be less than targeted because of Ras al-Hikma.”

According to the finance czar, Egypt has taken major steps towards lowering its budget deficit by selling real estate as well as agreeing a support package with the IMF.

He claimed that the country’s primary budget surplus will rise to above 3.5% in the fiscal year that will begin on July.

The finance ministry last month forecast a primary general budget surplus equal to 2.5% of gross domestic product for the current fiscal 2023/24 year.

As part of the IMF package, Egypt devalued its currency to around 50 Egyptian pounds to the dollar from 30.85 pounds and raised its key overnight interest rates by 600 basis points.

A chronic shortage of dollars has led to an immense back-up at ports. Since January, Egypt has released $13 billion worth of goods from ports, Maait said.