The hospitals project was the furthest along, but bids submission has been delayed twice from its original March deadline until August 15 because of uncertainty in the wake of the popular uprising that toppled the government in February.

Potential bidders have sought currency guarantees on the hospitals projects because the income would be in Egyptian pounds, while up to 40 percent of the costs would be medical equipment bought mainly from abroad using foreign currency.

Some of the banks willing to finance are looking for a sovereign guarantee in terms of insuring the government will make its payments on time and, in case of termination of the contract, the termination compensation stated in the contract will be paid by the government," he said, speaking in an interview last week.