Over 6,000 projects completed in Upper Egypt with $642mln investment: minister
Egypt - Manal Awad, Egypt's Minister of Local Development, met with a World Bank delegation to assess progress in the Upper Egypt Local Development Programme and explore ways to strengthen the region's business environment and private sector engagement.
The delegation included Elin Olafsen, Senior Private Sector Specialist, and Zeeshan Karim, Senior Urban Specialist, along with other World Bank representatives. Also in attendance were Hisham El-Helbawy, the Minister's Assistant for National Projects and Director of the Upper Egypt Programme, and members of the programme's coordination office.
Awad highlighted the longstanding partnership with the World Bank since the programme's launch in 2018, expressing gratitude for the Bank's continued support, which has led to substantial achievements across key governorates. She described the initiative as a flagship model of development cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank.
To date, the programme has implemented more than 6,000 projects with total investments exceeding EGP 32bn, directly improving infrastructure and public services for approximately 8.2 million citizens in Sohag, Qena, Minya, and Assiut. Key focus areas include roads, sanitation, and electricity, with 40% of investments directed toward economic development and institutional capacity-building at the local and technological levels. Awad noted that the programme provides a scalable model for development across other governorates.
The initiative has also advanced Egypt's decentralisation agenda and significantly increased private sector participation, benefiting over 72,000 companies. Surveys show that around 85% of business owners reported satisfaction with the programme's support—an encouraging sign for the government's wider 2024–2027 national reform plan.
El-Helbawy provided updates on the World Bank delegation's recent field activities, including site visits in the four governorates, consultations with governors, and meetings with ministry officials. Discussions focused on enhancing infrastructure in industrial zones and supporting economic clusters in Qena and Sohag.
He also pointed to tangible improvements in industrial zone management, service delivery, private sector engagement, and local revenue generation.
Elin Olafsen praised the programme's role in boosting regional competitiveness, highlighting her visits to the medicinal and aromatic plants cluster in Qena and the industrial zone in Qeft. She commended the strong coordination between the Ministry of Local Development and the Industrial Development Authority in fostering growth in Upper Egypt's industrial sector.
Olafsen reaffirmed the World Bank's commitment to supporting Egypt's efforts to enhance the business climate, digitise local services, and replicate successful models—particularly the economic cluster approach—in other governorates.
The Bank's representatives expressed strong support for the cluster-based strategy, noting that 12 economic clusters have already been implemented, with most nearing completion. Full rollout is anticipated by October 2025.
Zeeshan Karim described the Upper Egypt programme as one of the World Bank's most impactful initiatives in Egypt. She highlighted its achievements in local governance, job creation, and economic development, and reiterated the Bank's dedication to supporting Egypt's broader goals of decentralisation and sustainable urban and economic growth.
© 2024 Daily News Egypt. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
11 minutes ago
- The National
Trump defends travel ban and says Egypt 'has things under control'
US President defends decision to exclude Egypt from travel ban that affects citizens of 12 countries
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Afghan civil servants face bleak Eid after salaries delayed
Abdul Saboor usually treats his children to new clothes for the Eid al-Adha holiday but like many Afghan public sector workers, he is scraping by this year awaiting a delayed salary. The Taliban government has faced recurring difficulties paying civil servants since returning to power in 2021, leaving families grappling with financial uncertainty in one of the world's poorest countries. "We bought only cookies and dried fruits for Eid," said Saboor, which he said would be shared with visiting friends. One of the biggest holidays in the Muslim calendar, Eid al-Adha -- which begins on Saturday -- is celebrated with the sacrifice of an animal shared among family, neighbours and the needy to honour Ibhrahim's, or Abraham's, willingness to sacrifice his son, before God offered a sheep instead. The 45-year-old, who works for the Parwan provincial government's rural development department, was relieved to cash in two months' salary last week, but he put the money directly into paying off debts to shops he'd been relying on for credit. "We couldn't go to some shopkeepers, we were embarrassed," he told AFP. Afghanistan has faced major economic challenges since 2021 and is experiencing one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations. "Delays in the payment of wages and salaries point to persistent liquidity constraints and broader challenges in ensuring timely government expenditures," the World Bank said in an April report. Despite signs of recovery, the economic outlook remains "uncertain", the Bank said, with "growing fiscal pressures", a widening trade deficit and entrenched poverty. Public sector workers faced a similar struggle in March, receiving some delayed pay ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. 'Make ends meet' The finance ministry said this week it was in the process of paying all civil servants two months' worth of unpaid salaries, without explaining the delay or saying if future wages would be paid on time. Since the start of June, "almost all of the departments have received their salaries" for two months, spokesman Ahmad Wali Haqmal told AFP on Tuesday. The Taliban government has not made its recent budgets public -- but experts say security spending has been prioritised at the expense of other departments. On Wednesday morning, a central Kabul bank was packed with government employees shouting for their turn to collect salaries before the Eid holiday. In Kandahar city, government-paid workers also lined up to collect their money, some voicing only gratitude for getting paid. Hayatullah, a 21-year-old teacher in the Taliban heartland province, said he only received one-month's salary. "We will try to make ends meet," he said, refusing to give his full name for fear of reprisal. "But we can't afford the Eid expenses." 'Children's expectations' Last year, the government slashed salaries of women staff who were forced to stay home since the Taliban seized power and prevented them from working in mixed offices. Jobs have been cut from other departments in recent months, though government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in April said reducing staff was a "normal" process aimed at improving efficiency. Mohammad, who works for a government office in Ghor and did not want to give his real name for fear of reprisal, said he had already spent his salary paying back loans to shopkeepers and had nothing left for Eid celebrations. "We received the salaries for two months very late and we have faced a lot of problems during this period," he said. "Eid is coming and when there is no money, it is really worrying -- there are the children's expectations, family's expectations and Eid day expenses," said the 40-year-old who is the only breadwinner for 10 people. "My family has to wait."
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Critical juncture
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam last week declared his government's intentions on the host of difficult problems facing the country. He began with the issue of security. He said Lebanon has achieved 80 per cent of its goals by asserting the Lebanese army's control of the south in accordance with the provisions of the November ceasefire deal with Israel despite daily Israeli violations. While obliged to withdraw completely from Lebanon, the Israeli army has retained what it calls 'strategic posts' several hundred metres within Lebanese territory, arguing they are essential for protecting northern Israeli settlements. While Hizbollah's fighters and arms have withdrawn and Hizbollah arms dumps and posts have been destroyed from the border zone to territory north of the Litani River, Israel continues to target the movement's members wherever they are found and has reportedly killed 150 since the beginning of the ceasefire. This being the case, Hizbollah insists on retaining some weapons. Once Israel stops attacking HIzbollahis, there will be no need for them to bear arms. Last week Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas agreed that Palestinian factions based in the 12 refugee camps in Lebanon must also be disarmed. They said the existence of 'weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended.' They also discussed the 'regularisation' of the existence of 270,000 Palestinians in the country. They are barred from some professions and owing property or businesses and cannot secure public service jobs or access healthcare and social security, Salam told 'The Wall Street Journal,' 'All over the Lebanese territory, the state should have a monopoly on arms. We don't want to put the country onto a civil-war track, but believe me, this is not going to affect our commitment to the need to extend and consolidate the authority of the state.' This will necessitate expanding and army the military to defend the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity and strengthen the domestic police force to impose law and order on a country which has, since independence in 1943, practiced laisser faire across the board. Salam has declared his intention of going on the warpath against endemic corruption and of reforming and restoring public confidence in banks which have contributed heavily to the country's 6-year economic and financial crisis. He said the World Bank and Gulf states have offered Beirut their support in this endeavour. He called for independence of the judiciary and pledged no government interference in the 2000 explosion of a stockpile of amonium nitrate in Beirut port killed 2018,injured 7,000 bs near the port. Investigating judge Tariq Bitar has recently returned to the case and is set to issue an indictment on August 4th, 2025, the fifth anniversary of the blast which shook Lebanon to the core. Salam said discussions have been held with Damascus and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the repatriation of the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. He said that now that the Assads have left power in Syria 'everything is possible.' Talks between Washington and Tehran over restoration of an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions has created a favourable atmosphere as well as a commitment by these external powers to 'restore Lebanon,' Salam said. When CNN's Becky Anderson asked Salam if Lebanon would normalize relations with Israel, he took a firm line by saying that his country would stick with the Arab peace plan adopted by the 2002 Beirut summit. This called for full Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territory occupied in 1967, including Syria's Golan Heights, the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem. 'We are committed to peace, but a peace based on the two-state solution.' His reply dismisses her suggestion of a 'path to peace' as the requirement for Lebanese relations with Israel. It can be said that Nawaf Salam is qualified to be Lebanon's prime minister at this critical juncture in the country's recent history. He was born in December 1953 into a highly political family deeply committed to Lebanon. His grandfather reformist Selim Salam was elected to the Ottoman parliament in 1912. His uncle Saeb Salam, fought for Lebanon's independence from France and subsequently served four times as prime minister between 1952 and 1973. His cousin Tammam Salam was prime minister between 2014 and 2016. Nawaf Salam's academic achievements are outstanding. He earned a doctorate in political science from France's Sciences Po, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School, and a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne. He practiced law, lectured at distinguished universities, and worked as a legal consultant in France, the US, and Lebanon. From July 2007 to December 2017, he served as Lebanon's UN ambassador. In November 2017, he was elected to the International Court of Justice, becoming the second Lebanese to assume this post. He attracted international attention by presiding over the South African lawsuit against Israel for committing genocide against Gaza. Following the election of army chief Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon, Salam was nominated by parliament as prime minister and took up the post on January 14th this year. The fifth general to assume the presidency, Aoun pre-empted Salam, his candidate for prime minister, by vowing to battle mafias, halt drug trafficking, tackle corruption and fight sectarianism. He pledged to promote economic, political, and judicial reform. He pormised to end Israel's occupation of Lebanese territory and 'affirm the state's right to a monopoly on the carrying of arms.' Elected at a time of multiple crises in Lebanon, Aoun has a mighty example to emulate. This was the first general to take power, Fuad Chehab, who assumed the presidency after the country's first civil conflict in 1958. He was an incorruptible, autocratic figure who unified the country, launched reforms and social development, and built state institution. During his presidency, There were five prime ministers, including Saeb Salam. Lebanon hopes the duo of Aoun and Nawaf Salam could match some of the achievements of Chehab and his associates. Photo: TNS
