Egypt plans to increase private sector’s share of investments to 50% in FY2024/25

CAIRO – 28 March 2024: The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development plans to increase the private sector’s share of investments to 50 percent in the upcoming fiscal year 2024/2025, compared to the targeted 36 percent in the current fiscal year 2023/2024 and 25.5 percent in the previous fiscal year 2022/2023. 

This comes with the aim to enhance private sector participation in development efforts, aligning with the state’s policy document. 

According to Egypt’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the maximum limit for government investments will reach LE 1 trillion as part of reforms aimed at expanding opportunities for the private sector.

The ministry highlighted that human development accounts for 42.4 percent of government investments, followed by water supply and sanitation at 25.4 percent, construction at 8.4 percent, transportation and storage at 7.1%, energy at 3.8%, telecommunications at 3.6%, agriculture at 3.1 percent, and 6.1 percent for other investments. 

The plan includes financing the second phase of the “Haya Karima” initiative with around LE 150 billion, distributed across various activities under the initiative. 

Egypt targets a 4.2 percent growth in the upcoming fiscal year, with four sectors expected to contribute around 51 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), representing key productive activities alongside relevant commercial activities.

The plan is based on six pillars: constitutional entitlements, Egypt’s Vision 2030, the National Structural Reform Programme, the State General Planning Law, the National Strategy for Human Rights, and the State Ownership Policy Document. 

Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, stated that the transportation sector’s main objectives include completing the national and strategic road networks, interprovincial roads, Nile axes, and overhead bridges.

She emphasized the continued green investment approach, aiming for green projects to account for 50 percent of public investments, with an increase in the contribution of projects adapting to climate change from 22 percent to 35 percent.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet approved the draft budget for the fiscal year 2025/2024, as well as the budgets of public economic entities, with total expenditures of LE 6.4 trillion and revenues of LE 5.05 trillion.

This approval comes ahead of sending the budget to the House of Representatives within the constitutional deadline at the end of this month.

“For the first time, the government’s general budget will be presented to the House of Representatives, with the inclusion of the ‘general budget of the state administrative apparatus and all economic bodies’ next Sunday,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, said.

The total expenses of the general government amount to LE 6.4 trillion, while its revenues reach LE 5.05 trillion, reflecting the structural reforms introduced by the recent amendment to the Unified Public Finance Law, which introduced the concept of the ‘general government budget.’