Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a Cabinet meeting, on Tuesday, to follow up on the progress of infrastructure development projects under the “Decent Life” initiative which targets 1,000 rural communities nationwide.
Madbouly said that the Ministry of Housing and the Armed Forces’ Engineering Authority will undertake the implementation of infrastructure projects in the target areas, while the relevant ministries will take over the operation process.
He stressed the necessity for establishing industrial projects and craft complexes across the country, offering loans for small projects, launching integrated programmes for family planning, women’s health, and literacy. He noted that there will be periodic follow-ups on the situation of all these projects, in a way that contributes to the acceleration of implementation.
“Decent Life” initiative was launched in accordance with the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, with the aim of improving public services for residents of rural communities most in need, and supporting the most vulnerable groups.
The Cabinet meeting was attended by Minister of Education Tarek Shawky, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Sharaawy, Minister of Health Hala Zayed, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine Al-Qabbaj, and Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea.
The Prime Minister further affirmed the need for a clear timetable for each project, taking into account that all projects will be carried out in parallel.
In the first phase of the “Decent Life” initiative, the government allocated about EGP 4bn for development projects in a total of 143 rural communities during fiscal year (FY) 2019/20. Additional 232 localities were included in FY 2020/21 plan, with financial allocations amounting to EGP 9.59bn.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has a separate meeting with the Minister of Housing, the Chairperson of the Armed Forces’ Engineering Authority, and the Executive Director of the Informal Settlements Development Fund, to follow up on the urban development project of provincial capitals and major cities, as well as the Historic Cairo revival project.
During the meeting, the Minister of Housing introduced a presentation on the executive position of the priority sites in the first phase of the urban development project.
