File Photo: Egypt s first monorail on its track at the New Administrative Capital. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Ministry of Transportation
According to the
index report highlighted by Business Insider Africa this week, Egypt came second after Morocco, followed by Mauritius and Algeria.
The report, which also covered the 10-year change from 2014 to 2023, indicated Egypt's substantial progress and sustained development efforts in enhancing its infrastructure, noting the broader trend of advancements across the African continent.
According to “Private Participation in Infrastructure” issued by the World Bank in May, Egypt ranked first among African countries with the most significant private infrastructure investment in 2023, with $2.3 billion worth.
In late 2023, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stated that since 2014 the country has spent approximately EGP 10 trillion (nearly $323 billion) on infrastructure projects, including road and port construction and railway development.
Egypt's investment in megaprojects has been a key economic strategy for a decade. However, the financial crisis, intensified by the Russia-Ukraine war that led to a dollar shortage and record inflation in 2023, has raised concerns about the costs of these initiatives.
In January 2023, El-Sisi affirmed that megaprojects were not the reason for the economic challenges.
“There isn’t anything unimportant that we worked on or any miscalculation that we made,” he asserted, shortly after the government decided to delay new projects requiring substantial foreign currency.
In November, the cabinet tightened controls on foreign currency spending, mandating the Ministry of Finance’s approval before any foreign currency disbursements.
By May 2023, the government extended deadlines for ongoing projects to prevent penalties on companies and suppliers for potential delays.
Meanwhile, the MIF index report stated that Egypt came fifth among African nations in 2023 in the Social Protection and Welfare category and seventh in the Health and Education categories.
Moreover, the country came eighth in the Sustainable Environment category and ranked tenth in the Business and Labour Environment category.
Founded in 2006 by Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) is an African organization dedicated to defining, assessing, and promoting sound leadership and governance as essential for the continent’s progress.
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