Top Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris said he was ready to invest $500 million in Egypt and was diversifying his telecoms business into infrastructure, energy and transportation, sectors which need major funds in the country.

Sawiris, a billionaire from a powerful Coptic Christian family, said the investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh had been a success but that the government would need need to make efforts to follow up with investors.

"We all know the minute the decisions go down to our famous and most regarded bureaucrats you see one sign only: stop. They need to have a pusher, and the minister of investment is a pusher," said Sawiris, 60, chairman and chief executive of Orascom Telecom, Media and Technology.

He said the government should form a committee to firmly thrust the investment agenda forward and help revive Egypt's economy, laid low by four years of political turmoil triggered by the 2011 revolt which toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

"My advice... is the prime minister should initiate a small office headed by the investment minister with some drivers who continue the dialogue with the investors who are committed to the projects in this conference," said Sawiris.

Egypt clinched investments worth billions of dollars from top global companies such as General Electric, BP and Eni at the conference, which ended on Sunday.

Gulf Arab allies also pledged $12.5 billion.

Sawiris said Orascom Telecom would diversify into new sectors including infrastructure, logistics and energy projects alongside its core business.

"I am going to be extremely aggressive here in my investments. We have firepower right now of $500 million. Today we signed $100 million out of this 500," Sawiris told Reuters in an interview at the investment conference.

"We are the first and the only Egyptian company till now to sign the solar power energy 50 megawatts today."

Sawiris said he also saw opportunities in Tunisia.

"We are willing to duplicate our investments in Egypt in Tunisia as well, because it's stable, because the political Islamists are more wise than ours here," he said.

Sawiris was a vocal opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement removed from power by then-army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who went on to become president.-Reuters