Egypt's new stimulus package focuses on roads, sanitation

[DJKeefy]

Egypt's new stimulus package focuses on roads, sanitation: Finance minister.

Egypt's new economic stimulus package will include billions of pounds in infrastructure and sanitation investments, according to a breakdown released by Finance Minister Ahmed Galal in a meeting with economists from Egyptian political parties.

Last Monday, Galal announced a stimulus package worth LE29.6 billion ($4.3 billion), a third more than the initial LE22.3 billion allocated to revive the country's ailing economy.

The government is still aiming to reduce the budget deficit to 10 percent in the current fiscal year, from 14 percent in FY2012/2013, the minister confirmed.

Talks are in progress to settle arrears owed to international oil companies, Galal added, with a new payment to be made before the end of the year.

As part of the stimulus, LE2.5 million will be allocated to renovating roads and bridges, LE1.6 billion to paving roads nationwide, and LE557 million to complete 15 roads under the supervision of Egypt's Central Agency for Reconstruction.

In addition, LE523 million will go towards the reclamation of agricultural land, LE2.2 billion for a national drinking water and sanitation project, LE882 million towards environmental projects, and LE456 million to reinforce power grids.

The government has also allocated LE50 million for the development of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

LE590 million will be used to fund the programme exempting school and university students of tuition fees, while LE1.5 billion will extend natural gas to some 800,000 housing units during this fiscal year. LE2.7 billion will be allocated to upgrade railway crossings.

LE273 million will fund the completion of the second phase of a third metro line in Cairo, and the government will disburse LE655 million for the purchase of 600 new buses.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/84886.aspx

[Chocolate Eclair]

Great!! Get the basics correct and the rest will follow.. Well done.

[Who2]

Quote: LE523 million will go towards the reclamation of agricultural land,
So beware all those houses built on agricultural land, which basically means all new build houses on the west bank.
And that is probably every house built within the last 6 years. They have your number there coming for you all it's only a matter of time....
Ps: and not b4 time...
Oh! and waiving those bits of paper wont do any good either........

[Hafiz]

Capital stimulus plans generally end in tears (waste, corruption or worse). If well planned, cost benefit done, contracts properly let and good execution they take ages to get going and defeat the purpose of short term stimulus. If done on the quick those that benefit are often not those in need.

This looks like the previous announcement with a 1/3 tacked on with the same old over-promising which never gets challenged by the slavering al Ahram.

800,000 gas connections in this fiscal year?

Roads might be quickly done but bridges probably not.

Exemption from school and university fees - probably another dose of middle class welfare at least as regards university fees.

The 3rd metro line - that must be the third announcement of this desperately needed project. Will take years if not decades, will benefit Cairenes and is a high capital program with low labor inputs. Won't do much for unemployment. If a third line is the answer what was the question. At a price of Le273 not much will get done anyway.

The old railway crossing problem. How can a country with so few railway lines continue to have problems with crossings. Maybe the problem is not about the crossings but about human behavior on the part of drivers and crossing 'supervisors'?

Has anyone ever heard an Egyptian minister mention cost benefit on any spending program?