The Egyptian government decided Sunday to include six regions among governorates “most in need of development”, according to a law aimed at providing incentives to investors and enhancing job opportunities in those geographical areas.
The areas included under the category “most in need” are governorates to the south of Giza, the Suez Canal Region, east of the Canal area, and border governorates, including the Red Sea governorate, and the Upper Egypt governorates.
The latest official census on the poverty rate in Egypt showed that 32.5 percent of citizens are below the national poverty line.
Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, ordered that the areas “most in need” will receive facilities in certain economic activities, including intensive labor projects, medium and small projects, and projects that depend on or produce renewable energy, as well as others.
Through its action plan, the government aims to reduce unemployment rates.
Earlier, Minister of Planning Hala al-Saeed said that unemployment indicators for Q4 of 2019 showed lower rates to reach 8 percent, compared to 8.9 percent in Q4 of the previous year.
In the same context, the Minister of Local Development, Mahmoud Shaarawi, inaugurated a number of development projects in Sohag governorate, south of Egypt, as part of the presidential initiative to develop villages most in need.
The Egyptian government plans to develop 478 villages at an estimated cost of about EGP10 billion by 2022, by implementing a “decent life” initiative that include projects to improve transportation services, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, lighting, education, and health.
The initiative also aims to provide job opportunities with soft loans to promote economic situations.
