Saudi Arabia has injected an additional $400 million as part of a Saudi-Egyptian loan agreement to develop the Sinai Peninsula, said a report citing a senior Egyptian minister.

With this investment, the kingdom’s total funding in Sinai through its Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has risen to around $900 million, Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr told the Amwal Al Ghad newspaper.

The agreement, titled King Salman’s Programme for the Development of the Peninsula of Sinai, was signed by officials of both countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh last year.

The pact was aimed at giving Egypt a $1.5 billion soft loan to help it develop the Sinai region and buy Saudi oil products needed for development purposes.

The programme includes the construction of King Salman’s University in Al Tor city besides funding a series of agricultural and irrigation projects, and upgrading North Sinai’s network of roads.