President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated several projects in the governorate of Qena and urged the government to provide information in an easier fashion so that the common citizen could understand.
The president asked Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat to reveal the annual income of the railway stations. He hinted that the cost of the service costs more than the income generated. “Operating the institution costs EGP 4bn and 5bn, while the income generated doesn’t exceed EGP 2bn,” he added, saying that talking about balancing between costs and income is not easy.
He mentioned that large amounts of money can be diverted from supporting the transportation apparatus into covering the debt of the country abroad. He also commented about the raising of transportation prices and said that “when we raise the ticket, people say that they cannot afford it. The state is also unable to pay.”
Al-Sisi interrupted officials presenting the newly inaugurated projects, saying that he rejects the illegal acquisition of land. He ordered the police and the army to intervene as to bring an end to the phenomenon and counter individuals who control and own land illegally. He ordered the government to give all violators until the end of May to reconcile.
Since the start of Al-Sisi’s rule in 2014, national projects have been presented as the gateway to providing Egyptians with job opportunities and reviving the economy, especially during the time of political unrest and the lack of security between the 25 January Revolution and June 2013.
These projects include the New Suez Canal Project, the new 4,400 km Road Network Project, a 1 million hectare Land Reclamation Project, and the development of the northwest coast, whose budget relied also on preliminary capital from the Taya Misr fund.
The President inaugurated the Girga highroad, which is 10 kilometres long and links the eastern and western sides of the Cairo-Aswan agricultural road, as well as the Tahta and Kebash bridges in Sohag and Luxor.
The Tahya Misr fund was formed in June following Al-Sisi’s inauguration, in an attempt to collect donations to stimulate the struggling economy. Al-Sisi issued a decree to establish the fund, where, in accordance with Article 2 of the decree law, it is held under the auspices of the president.
