Egypt and France have signed nine financing agreements following the high-level official visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Cairo, in the presence of several Egyptian and French ministers.
These agreements total €262.3 million, comprising loans and grants, and reflect the depth of the long-standing, structured bilateral partnership between France and Egypt.
By leveraging the technical expertise and know-how of French companies, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) seeks to invest in projects with a tangible impact to achieve shared prosperity.
The agreements include high-impact projects serving citizens, reflecting the diversity and breadth of cooperation between Egypt and France, through the AFD, in three top-priority sectors: transport, water, and energy.
Together, these projects constitute nearly half of the commitments included in the Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement (IGA) for the 2021-2025 period.
These sustainable investments also underscore the priority of essential transitional infrastructure and the alignment of the bilateral partnership with Egypt’s priorities, including the “NWFE” (Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy) program and “NWFE +” for transportation.
Transportation projects
The 10th of Ramadan Dry Port Link project aims to connect the dry port and industrial zones in Robiki, 10th of Ramadan, and Belbeis to Egypt’s main seaports.
The project, co-financed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will contribute to supporting Egypt’s priorities to foster a more dynamic and competitive private sector by facilitating export operations, increasing the attractiveness of industrial value chains, alleviating road traffic congestion, and encouraging the transition to rail transport.
This project is expected to support the economic activity of hundreds of thousands of workers in the associated industrial zones.
Wastewater treatment
The two sides also signed the financing and grant agreements for the “al-Gabal al-Asfar” Wastewater Treatment Plant Project, with financing from AFD amounting to €50 million, a grant of €1.5 million, and an EU grant of €10 million, managed by AFD for the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities.
This project aims to enhance the sustainable development of the water and sanitation sector by increasing the treatment capacity of the plant to meet the rising population of those served within the drinking water and sanitation service area.
This expansion of the “al-Gabal al-Asfar” plant, one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in Africa, will add an additional treatment capacity of up to one million cubic meters per day, meeting the needs of an additional 5.5 million people, and will create more than 2,000 jobs.
Moreover, financing and grant agreements were signed for the “New Wastewater Treatment Plant Project in East Alexandria,” with €68 million financing from AFD and a two million euro grant for the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities.
The project aims to contribute to improving wastewater treatment services in the country, particularly in Alexandria, and work with new urban development projects.
It will alleviate pressure on the existing facility due to the growing population.
The project aims to serve approximately 1.5 million people (300,000 cubic meters per day) upon completion of the first phase, which will continue until 2032.
Renewable energy
During a high-level event, two agreements for concessional financing and a grant were signed for the “Regional Control Center Project in Alexandria,” with €50 million financing from AFD and a €10 million grant from the European Union, managed by the Agency for the benefit of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
This project is part of the energy pillar of the nation’s platform for the “NWFE” program.
The project aims to provide stable, high-quality electricity supplies to the residents of Alexandria and modernize the control facilities of the electricity grid, especially in one of the most densely populated areas in Egypt.
With the rise in national energy generation, the sharp increase in demand, the integration of renewable energy sources, and the rapid expansion of the network, this project aims to help Alexandria become a strong regional energy hub.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
