Photo courtesy of Egypt's Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation
The larger agreement, valued at $170 million, covers the second phase of a programme to support private sector development and economic diversification. It forms part of a broader $9.5 billion concessional budget support package agreed with international financial institutions for the 2023–2026 period.
According to the ministry, the second phase is intended to advance structural and economic reforms, support macroeconomic stability, and improve the business and investment climate, including measures related to Egypt’s transition to a green economy. The first phase of the programme was approved in December 2024, with $131 million allocated by the AfDB.
The second agreement involves a $400,000 grant to support the fourth phase of the Abu Rawash wastewater treatment plant project in Giza. The funding will be used to improve the project’s sustainability and operational efficiency and to expand its treatment capacity to 2 million cubic metres per day, up from 1.6 million.
The ministry said the expansion would benefit about 8.6 million people in Giza governorate and improve water reuse for agriculture and environmental purposes.
Egypt has been seeking to expand private sector participation as part of its broader economic reform agenda, with official targets including annual foreign direct investment of $24.6 billion, total exports of $145 billion, and private sector contributions accounting for 72 percent of total investment by 2030.
The government has also set a growth target of 7.5 percent by 2030, backed by fiscal reforms, diversified financing sources, and increased development financing for the private sector—including an allocation of allocating $15 billion in development financing.
According to the ministry, the reforms are intended to support investment across sectors, including real estate, industry, foreign trade, green transition, the non-banking financial sector, and labour market development, as part of broader efforts to expand private sector activity.
The AfDB has been a key financier of projects in Egypt across sectors, including water and sanitation, transport, and structural reform. Between 2022 and 2024, the bank financed 14 public and private sector operations in Egypt worth a total of $1.46 billion.
Short link: