Egypt will provide additional allocations for the development of North Sinai and enhance the capital of the North Sinai Investment Company, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has confirmed.
The move comes in implementation of presidential directives to support comprehensive development efforts in the Sinai Peninsula.
Maait said that the Egyptian Government pays great attention to enhancing the volume of investments to meet the developmental needs of citizens.
This was reflected in an unprecedented increase in financial allocations for public investments in the budget for the new fiscal year (FY) 2021/22. This saw allocations reach EGP 358.1bn, reflecting a growth rate of 27.6% compared to the previous year.
He pointed out that by comparing the financial allocations for investments in the new budget with what was planned in FY 2013/14, it turns out that it has been multiplied by more than 6 times.
This reflects the state’s keenness to meet the development needs of citizens, and to attract new investments to create more job opportunities.
Maait emphasised that the state had succeeded in the elaborate implementation of its economic reform programme, which contributed to providing the Egyptian economy with significant flexibility in the face of internal and external crises.
The programme has also enabled the government to pursue expansionary economic policies, in a way that was reflected in the continued praise from international rating and finance institutions for the economy’s performance.
The minister said that the international rating agencies Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s have all decided to fix Egypt’s credit rating at a stable future outlook ranking. They have also placed Egypt among the best countries in the world in reducing debt by 20% within three years.
Maait said that the government has almost completed the second phase of economic reforms without any additional burdens on citizens by implementing structural reforms in vital and promising sectors.
This is especially in: manufacturing industries; agriculture; and the communications and information technology (CIT) sectors. These reforms have been implemented by developing the legislative system, facilitating government transactions, improving transport and logistics efficiency, and deepening financial inclusion.
