World Bank's portfolio in Egypt represents 13 projects worth $5.8B

CAIRO – 24 March 2021: World Bank Group is currently working on preparing a systematic diagnostic study on Egypt in preparation for setting up the framework for the strategic partnership for Egypt for the years 2021-2025, according to Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

The Planning Ministry clarified in a Statement, Tuesday, that the strategy focuses on ways to create job opportunities and achieve social and economic inclusion.

It explained that the World Bank's partnership framework with Egypt includes 3 interrelated strategic focus areas in line with the Egyptian government's longer-term development strategy, which are: improving governance and good management systems, in addition to improving job creation opportunities led by the private sector, as well as supporting social inclusion.

The World Bank indicated that the current strategy focuses on mobilizing financing for development purposes and developing human capital, and the current World Bank portfolio in Egypt includes 13 projects (10 projects under the investment program financing tool, and 3 projects under the results-based program financing tool) with a total value of $ 5.84 billion.

“The Egyptian government has achieved tangible results in all three areas of focus within the framework of the strategic partnership,” The bank stated,  pointing out that Egypt's national reform program aims to boost the economy, create job opportunities and achieve sustainable growth, especially in the energy sector.

The bank added that the government has supported the investment climate by introducing amendments to the investment law, implementing the competition law, and reforming the industrial licensing system, which helped reduce the time spent on licensing procedures for industries that do not represent a significant degree of risks to health, the environment, or Safety or security of about 80 percent.

It explained that the Egyptian government is working on designing mega projects and programs and financing them using various financial tools with the aim of: enhancing social protection programs, supporting sustainable activities to create jobs, and improving the quality-of-service provision in the country.

The Local Development Program in Upper Egypt, at a cost of $ 500 million (using the Results Based Program Funding Tool), works to improve the business environment in order to develop the private sector and improve the capacities of local government agencies to promote infrastructure and provide services to citizens and local companies in two of Egypt's most needy governorates, namely Qena and Sohag, which have a population of 8 million citizens.

This program has supported about 4,000 companies through interventions that included digitization of administrative services to obtain building permits and licenses to engage in commercial activity. This resulted in a 25 percent reduction in the time required to extract these licenses; Occupancy rates increased in industrial areas, reaching 23 percent in Qena and 5 percent in Sohag.

The World Bank stated that investments in infrastructure and services have brought benefits so far to about 5 million citizens, nearly half of them are women. Citizens, including women and youth, participate in identifying capital investments through consultations that have taken place with about 5,000 citizens so far.