A number of governorates will allocate 2,023 land plots for investment through the public private partnership (PPP) system to establish new schools in geographic zones that suffer from overcrowding in classrooms, according to Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
The ministerial economic committee approved the national project to build new schools through the PPP system to alleviate the burden on the state budget, according to a source at the cabinet.
“During its next meeting, the Council of Governors will determine the readiness of these lands to meet all requirements of allocation for private sector,” the source said, noting that the meeting is scheduled during the next few days.
“The private sector will only handle the establishment, while the Ministry of Education will supervise and organise the educational process and reviewing school fees,” the source said.
The national project for schools has been negotiated between the Ministries of Investment, Planning, Finance, and Local Development. The PPP projects are not included in the one-stop-shop system, which allocates investment lands to investors, according to the acting CEO of General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Alaa Omar.
The one-stop shop is a governmental mechanism aiming to accelerate procedures of economic activities by providing lands, which are ready for investment and acquired approvals from sovereign authorities such as the Ministries of Defence, Antiquities, and Tourism.
The project aims to decrease overcrowded classrooms and Egypt needs to build 53,000 classrooms, according to Minister of Education Hilal El-Sherbini. One classroom can have between 100 and 120 students in several schools.
The project’s first phase consists of allocating 2,023 land parcels distributed on a number of governorates that suffer from overcrowding in classrooms; 147 parcels in Assiut, 49 in Sohag, 13 in Aswan, and five in Luxor.
The project also includes 305 sites in Giza, 162 sites in Minya, 152 in Qalyubia, 146 in Beheira, 104 in Gharbeya, 77 in Menufiya, 53 in Fayoum and 53 in Beni Suef, and 50 in Kafr El-Sheikh. Moreover, 193 plots will be allocated in Cairo, 156 plots in Sharqeya, 123 in Alexandria, 117 in Daqahleya, and 14 in Damietta.
During the ministerial economic committee, Ismail said the government is supporting the private sector to implement economic and social development plans, El-Sherbini said.
