The total public investments of Egypt in the past four years reached about EGP 1.5tn, of which EGP 175bn were invested in new projects in the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, a growth of 12%, in comparison with the same period of the last FY, according to the Minister of Planning, Hala Al-Saeed.
The minister’s remarks came during her speech at the Suez Canal Authority’s regional conference which was held on Tuesday, which aims to enhance the quality of investment in the infrastructure.
The minister added, “Reaping the fruits of the state’s investments over the past four years, the state completed the implementation of 1,133 projects during H1 of the current FY at an investment cost of EGP 311bn in 20 sectors distributed over different Egyptian governorates. This contributed to increasing sectoral growth rates and improving the indicators of sustainable development in all fields.”
Moreover, Al-Saeed added that investing in infrastructure and improving its quality is one of the most important structural reforms that contribute to increasing the nation’s GDP.
“Evidence from international experience suggests that investment in infrastructure generates short and long-term benefits,” she added.
Concerning Egypt’s experience, Al-Saeed stated that Egypt has achieved the highest annual growth rate in 10 years, reaching 5.3% during FY 2017/18, due to the government’s reform programme that aims at expanding the implementation of infrastructural projects.
Moreover, Al-Saeed explained that the reform package implemented by the state has also contributed to the relative and continuous improvement of the ranking and status of Egypt in the Global Competitiveness Index, with Egypt ranked as 94th during 2018, instead of its previous 119th global ranking during 2014/15, stressing that this is due to the improvement in the sub-indicators of infrastructure.
She pointed out that the world needs trillions of dollars to finance the infrastructural projects needed to achieve sustainable growth.
“One of the recent studies of the African Development Bank has shown that the financing needs of the African continent for the implementation of infrastructure projects are estimated at $170bn annually, with a funding gap of about $100bn, which necessitates the search for innovative financing methods,” the minister stated.
Finally, Al-Saeed assured, “There is also a need for an effective partnership between governments, the private sector, civil society, as well as regional and international institutions in order to finance the necessary projects needed for achieving sustainable development.”
