The first phase of a project that aims to expand agricultural lands, increase crop production, and achieve food self-sufficiency was inaugurated last week. The project, the Future of Egypt Industrial City on the Sheikh Zayed Axis in Giza, is being implemented by the Future of Egypt Authority for Sustainable Development (FEASD). The industrial city hosts facilities meant to boost Egypt’s food security such as grain storage silos, a refrigeration complex for cooling and freezing crops, a dryer manufacturing factory, and a plant for producing animal feed.
A particular aim of the FEASD is to reduce Egypt’s agricultural import bill which currently stands at $20 billion annually.
The authority was established by presidential decree in 2022, and operates under the auspices of the Egyptian Armed Forces, particularly the Air Force, which launched the initiative in 2017 to reclaim desert land in Egypt’s western Delta. The FEASD is headed by Colonel Bahaa Al-Ghannam.
The project has grown in recent years and ambitious development plans have been designed thanks to studies undertaken to assess soil quality in areas where the plan is operated and to locate different water sources. Studies resulted in the launch of the New Delta Project three years ago in the Western Desert, near the northwestern coast. Spanning between 2.2 million and 2.8 million feddans across multiple smaller projects, the idea is to increase Egypt’s cultivated land by 15 per cent.
The total cost of the endeavour stands at LE8 billion, including the construction of an internal road network extending for 500 km, the drilling of groundwater wells, the establishment of two power plants generating 350 megawatts, the development of a 200 km internal electricity grid linked to the New Delta Electricity Grid, the construction of production input warehouses, and administrative and residential facilities, stated the Egyptian presidency.
The scheme is expected to generate 10,000 direct employment opportunities and over 360,000 indirect jobs, with the figures projected to increase in future phases. The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation is providing technical support and expertise.
The FEASD aims to expand reclaimed agricultural land to 4.5 million feddans. Its plans include reclamation efforts in Auwinat, Kharga Oasis, Beni Sweif, and Minya. Some 800,000 feddans are scheduled to be reclaimed by September. By 2027, Egypt’s total arable land is expected to reach 13.5 million feddans.
Beyond land reclamation and agricultural crop production, the FEASD is working in the development of the livestock, poultry, and fisheries sectors, as well as in mining operations and the utilisation of quarry resources located on lands affiliated to its projects. The authority plans to expand its activities to include renewable energy generation and digital transformation.
To broaden its base, the FEASD intends to offer 30 per cent of the shares of its affiliated companies on the Egyptian Exchange.
At present, the authority operates across multiple fields to maximise the productive potential of the land under its management. Its activities include transportation, electricity distribution, agricultural mechanisation, petrochemical production, contracting, groundwater well drilling, and the marketing of intermediate goods.
The project is critical to increasing Egypt’s arable land amid food security challenges such as population growth, the decrease of per capita share of water, and regional and global pressures threatening the stability of food supply chains, said Safieddin Metwalli, former head of the Agricultural Research Centre.
“Egypt wants to double its agricultural land by 2030, estimated now at nine million feddans. Work on this target began in 2015 and it has become critical for Egypt’s food security,” Metwalli told Al-Ahram Weekly.
The FEASD, Metwalli continued, has expanded lands cultivated with wheat, leading to Egypt attaining more than 50 per cent self-sufficiency in wheat. Annual wheat production has now reached 10 million tons, placing Egypt as the leading wheat producer in the Arab world and Africa, he added.
MP Amal Salama pointed to the FEASD’s potential to answer Egypt’s food needs in the coming years, due to its success in expanding reclaimed areas and increasing agricultural production. The authority’s projects leverage cutting-edge agricultural technologies and the expertise of Egyptian scientists, Salama noted.
The New Delta Project could become the cornerstone for achieving national self-sufficiency in agricultural production and increasing exports, Salama said, adding that this will contribute to reducing food import bills, increasing foreign currency reserves, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in Egypt’s Vision 2030.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 29 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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