It’s now more than 10 years since the popular Arab Spring protests that brought about the fall of former Egypt dictator Hosni Mubarak. Many things have changed in Egypt since then. The instability that gripped Egypt soon after the fall of Mubarak under the short-lived presidency of Mohamed Morsi has largely subsided to usher in a new era of optimism. The rise of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came through a coup in 2013, but he has since established his hold on power and soon unleashed a raft of political and economic changes that have changed the face of Egypt in the blink of an eye.
Under President Sisi, Egypt quickly sought to transform itself and project the image of a country on the fast lane to development. In 2016 President Sisi launched the Egypt Vision 2030, an ambitious long-term political, economic, and social plan of national development. The strategic objectives of the vision were to achieve overall sustainable development for Egypt.
The main thrust of Egypt’s Vision 2030 was to fulfil a long list of objectives, purposely designed to improve the quality of life of citizens, create a robust economy, prioritize technology and innovation, ensure peace and security and improvement of governance issues. The ultimate push of the government is to eradicate poverty in the country by 2030.
Of all things, it is the massive infrastructure projects that have been the main highlight of Sisi’s government so far. When President Sisi took office Egypt faced social problems on all fronts from dilapidated health facilities, a congested ageing road network, crippling power shortages and old cities filled with decaying slums.
The most high-profile among the infrastructure projects is the massive new capital city now at an advanced stage of construction in the heart of the desert outside the current capital Cairo. This new city is set to become the administrative and financial capital of Egypt in a move that will certainly decongest the old capital Cairo. The city will become a new home to millions of people as well as house government cabinet ministries and all important national authorities. At present the construction site of the new city is already an impressive sight, with several glitzy skyscrapers taking shape in the skyline. The majestic Iconic Tower, at almost 400 metres looms over the new city. It will be the new city’s trademark and one of Africa’s tallest towers.
The new capital city might be the pinnacle of Egypt’s incredible expansion plan but it is not the only city under construction. Egypt has other cities already at different levels of construction and has plans to build more than a dozen other new smart cities throughout the country. The new cities are a complete package with state-of-the-art technology, green energy, schools, quality hospitals, shopping centers, and amusement facilities. The government is also undertaking an extensive program of regeneration of the old cities. Slum communities are being razed down completely and replaced by modern apartments replete with all basic amenities. Egypt’s urban landscape has reached the climax of transformation.
Sisi’s government is also undertaking huge infrastructure projects in energy and transport, with new billion-dollar power stations sprouting up all over the country, massive upgrading of airports, seaports, communication, railroad and road networks. The transportation networks have witnessed a massive investment. New multi-lane highways have been constructed connecting new and old cities.
High-Speed rail networks are under construction as the government moves to fulfil its goal of connecting the country’s urban centers with a modern means of transportation. The government hopes to improve the lives of its citizens and also give a boost to industrial development.
Despite this remarkable transformation in Egypt, not everyone at home and abroad is impressed by Sisi’s run so far. From a distance the transformation has been like a fairy but in actual fact the road travelled has been full of challenges.
To finance its mega infrastructure projects Egypt has relied heavily on foreign debt from IMF, the World Bank, United Arab Emirates, China and Saudi Arabia among others.
There are now widespread concerns by economists about the toxic level of Egypt’s debt, which reportedly is now over 80 percent of the country’s GDP. Therefore, a significant chunk of the country’s revenue goes directly into servicing debt interest payments. This has given rise to fears the country may default on its debt especially on the backdrop of the current depressed global economic climate. To sustain the future, the Egyptian government will have to rely upon more debt. This has placed Egypt in a precarious financial position that may eventually lead to downgrade by lending institutions if the risk of default grows.
The rapid pace of development in itself has caused so much disquiet among citizens as it meant many had to be relocated to pave way for new infrastructure projects.
There are also many at home who feel the huge investments have had a negative impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. The government has spent a large chunk of national budget on big projects neglecting the basic necessities of the huge population. On top of punitive austerity measures that led to cuts in consumer subsidies, inflation has been another concern for citizens. As a result, the poverty level has marginally increased in the country.
Apart from these drawbacks the economic reforms of the Sisi administration have had a lot of positives. The massive construction boom has benefited a lot of local enterprises gain valuable knowledge and experience in working on big projects. This will certainly boost the growth of local industry into the future and will certainly set Egypt ahead of other African countries. Egyptian enterprises may soon be winning big contracts in foreign countries which will be a big boost for the local economy.
The massive investments in energy have already paid back too. The new power stations have already turned the tide for a country that used to experience regular power cuts. Egypt now has a surplus from its installed capacity production of energy. The growing investment in green energy is beginning to make a difference in solving the nagging problem of pollution especially in big cities like Cairo and Alexandria.
The overhaul of the transport system has helped solve an age-old problem of congestion on the overburdened old roads. New roads and better bridges have made commuting between cities easier and quicker.
Whatever the challenges President Sisi and his administration face, the gigantic nature of the transformation they have brought to Egypt has caught the attention of many on the continent and abroad. It remains to be seen if Sisi will be able to navigate the troubled waters and manage to finish off the dream he started. If his administration succeeds to avoid bankruptcy then other African countries may soon follow this trend of gigantic infrastructure projects which may transform the face of the continent as a whole.
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