Ras Banas Red Sea Egypt
Ras Banas is a peninsula in Egypt extending into the Red Sea.Ras Banas, the world’s largest untouched coral reef ecosystem, The inlet of water sheltered to the south of it is called Foul Bay, at the head of which sits the ancient port of Berenice.
Ras Banas in Egypt.. Ras Banas is located 356 km from Luxor, and contains a 50 km long tongue that extends into the Red Sea. The area contains a port and a tourist area with several diving points and coral reefs, as it includes the largest coral reef cluster in Egypt.
Egypt started promoting the “Ras Banas” area on the Red Sea to investors to develop it similar to the “Ras El-Hekma” project, according to a statement by the Minister of Housing and Urban Communities Sherif El Sherbiny on Saturday.
El-Sherbiny made his statements on the sidelines of a press conference held at the housing ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. Ras Banas is considered the largest pristine coral reef ecosystem in the world and the peninsula extends for 50 kilometres into the Red Sea encompassing the ancient Port Berenice.
This investment plan recalls the $35 billion Ras El Hekma deal in February, the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal in the history of Egypt. According to that deal, the government maintained a 35 percent share in the project and its earnings.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Thursday that the Egyptian government have identified 5 spots on the Red Sea, including Ras Banas peninsula, to attract new investments in fully integrated cities similar to the Ras El-Hekma deal in February.
Saudi investments in Egypt
PM Madbouly spoke with reporters on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi businessmen and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
"Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman confirmed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will inject $5 billion into projects in key economic sectors,” Madbouly said. He explained that those $ 5 billion are separate from the Saudi deposits at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
With the launch of Ras Banas and additional developments along the Red Sea, Egypt is positioning itself as an emerging hub for investment and tourism, paving the way for robust economic growth.
Ras Banas Climate Summary
Located at an elevation of None meters (0 feet) above sea level, Ras Banas has a Subtropical desert climate (Classification: BWh). The district’s yearly temperature is 28.27ºC (82.89ºF) and it is 3.37% higher than Egypt’s averages. Ras Banas typically receives about 0.85 millimeters (0.03 inches) of precipitation and has 2.98 rainy days (0.82% of the time) annually.
Ras Manazel, Khudaa, Shalateen and Wadi Diit
The Red Sea Coast in the southernmost part of Egypt is characterized with an early geological history of erosion and sediment transportation through a remarkably long and wide paleo-channel. Several alluvial deposits rich in economic heavy minerals have been identified along the coastal strip lying between Ras Banas and the Sudaniese border. Accumulations of heavy minerals have been observed along the Red Sea beaches sited at Ras Manazel, Khudaa, Shalateen and Wadi Diit. These deposits have been formed not only by transport processes related to the Red Sea offshore currents, but also by the drainage networks operating in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Satellite imagery of the drainage networks indicates that the granites of the Sudanese highlands are the source origin of these minerals, with minor input from granites in the southern Egyptian highlands.
Inland deposits emanating from the Red Sea current coastline have been formed before the opening of the Red Sea, and subsequent erosion and reworking through flash flooding and other catastrophic transport mechanisms has created more recent deposits along the current coastline. The deposits lying across the study area prove to contain ilmenite, magnetite, rutile, garnet, zircon and monazite, along with some radioactive minerals such as thorite with traces of gold. These mineral compositions are of high quality and match with those related to the granites persisting in Sudan and southern Egypt, as observed through the satellite imagery. The mineral concentrations and compositions appear to reflect the ilmenite granite series of Sudan and the magnetite granite series of the Egyptian Eastern Desert as derivative resources.
Ras Banas diving Rocky Zabargad St John's
with pristine environments and thrilling diving conditions, huge schools of fish, thriving coral reefs, gliding pelagic sharks, and plenty of tunnels and wrecks for exploration. And lying beyond the reach of diving day trips, guests can avoid much of the hustle and bustle of Egypt’s busy resort towns – and head straight to its epic diving.
Fury Shoal is a collection of reefs 10km north of Ras Banas, that mark the start of Egypt’s southern Red Sea. The conditions here are mild with plenty of shallow, sun-drenched reefs as well as the famous steep drop-offs with stronger currents. Guests can find several small caves and swim-throughs at less than 10-metres, as well as a couple of wrecks including the Tien Hsing tugboat. Situated immediately south of Ras Banas, Foul Bay extends all the way to Egypt’s border with Sudan. Although technically encompassing St John’s Reef, Foul Bay’s main attraction is the extraordinary maze of tunnels at a dive site known as Caves, where sunlight pierces through huge cracks in the reef, inviting plenty of exploration.
Zabargad
The biggest and southernmost island of the Egyptian Red Sea, Zabargad is an incredible dive location that offers wall diving and shallow diving, both of which afford you with a spectacular view of the unspoiled hard and soft coral gardens found there.
Zabargad is the largest marine park in Egypt’s southern Red Sea and is often grouped with the Rocky Island Marine Park which lies just 5km southeast. Zabargad’s Turtle Bay is home to an abundance of reef fish, cuttlefish, octopus, blue spotted rays and crocodile fish, and is also a nesting ground for turtles during August. Beyond the sheltered coves, Zabargad offers thrilling walls and strong currents as well as the Khanka Wreck and sightings of oceanic whitetips, grey reef sharks, hammerheads, silvertips and manta rays. Rocky Island is surrounded by a short reef plateau, which drops away into strong currents, encouraging serious schooling action as well as feeding sharks and giant barracuda.
St John’s Reef
St John’s Reef is the southernmost of all Egyptian Red Sea dive sites and one of the marquee stops on most southern liveaboard voyages. This area boasts possibly the healthiest coral reef Egypt has to offer, stunning tunnel complexes, and an abundance of shark encounters – made all the more exhilarating with crystal-clear visibility.
St John’s Reef located on the Tropic of Cancer, this collection of reefs - Habili Gaafar, Habili Ali, Gotaa Kibeera, Gotaa Soghayara and St. John’s caves - offers a number of excellent dives spots. Part of the Elba National Park, its expansive underwater plateau is varied with drop-offs, breathtaking coral formations and gardens with lots of tunnels and caves to explore. There is a flourishing reef life and shark sightings are very likely. Its high visibility and good temperatures in winter make this a must-see destination.
Abu Dabbab
The reefs of Abu Dabbab are located nearby Elphinstone in the Marsa Allam area and offer beautiful coral gardens and swim through a canyon system. Here divers will also find a small shipwreck of a liveaboard from 2004. Depths reach up to 30-40 meters and currents may be strong.
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