Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — For the first time, Egypt’s military has disclosed details
of its secret economic empire.

The ruling military council has released the first details of its
business interests. On March 27, the military acknowledged that it operated
numerous companies in the fields of construction, defense, resorts and
civilian factories.

“We will not allow any interference from anyone in the economic projects of the armed forces,” ruling council spokesman Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Nasser said.

The details were released amid demands by the opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to reduce the military’s influence in Egyptian civilian life. Many in the new Islamist-dominated parliament have demanded an investigation of the long-secret military economic empire.

The ruling council said the military’s economic sector garnered $198 million in revenues in 2011. Nasser, who participated in a panel that discussed the military, said its companies were meant to ensure sufficient funds for all services amid budget shortages.

The figures released by the military could not be confirmed. The
Egyptian opposition has assessed that the military’s business empire was
worth tens of billions of dollars and employed 400,000 people, most of them
soldiers.

Nasser said the Egyptian military has been starved of government funds
over the last 20 years. He said the military accounted for 4.2 percent of
the state budget, far less than the 15 percent sought by the General Staff.

The general did not cite U.S. military aid to Egypt, which amounts to
$1.3 billion per year. In March 2012, the administration of President Barack
Obama waived the requirements of a new law that would have blocked U.S. aid
to Egypt until it improved human rights and democracy.

  defies efforts at ‘interference’, Egypt’s military sheds light on its economic empire, Islamist-dominated parliament, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Nasser, military’s economic sector, Muslim Brotherhood