Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala Al-Saeed, delivered a pivotal speech outlining the goals and financial commitments of the country’s economic and social development plan for the fiscal year 2024/2025 in front of the Senate.
Al-Saeed underscored the plan’s success, projecting a real economic growth rate of 4.2% in 2024/2025, a significant improvement from the anticipated 2.9% in the current fiscal year 2023/2024. This increase is a testament to the government’s effective measures to counter the direct impact of the ongoing economic and geopolitical crises that have influenced the global and regional landscape.
As per the minister, the targeted growth rate is expected to propel the gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices to reach EGP 17.3 trillion by the end of the 2024/2025 plan, up from the expected EGP 13.9 trillion in the current fiscal year.
Al-Saeed provided a comprehensive overview of the sectors poised to be the primary drivers of economic activity and rapid growth. These include communications, wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, real estate activities, and social services such as education and health, all of which are crucial for Egypt’s economic and social development.
She further disclosed that the total volume of targeted investments has risen to exceed 2 trillion pounds for the first time, up from the expected 1.65 trillion pounds in the current fiscal year and the actual 1.3 trillion pounds in 2022/2023. This reflects the government’s focus on investment as a primary growth driver alongside private consumer spending.
The minister also clarified that the investment rate is expected to rise from 11.9 percent in 2023/2024 to 13 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, with a further increase to 17 percent in the last year of the medium-term plan (2025/2026) due to the expected surge in both local and foreign private investments.
Al-Saeed also elaborated on the plan’s concentration on developing and enhancing public investments’ efficiency, including prioritizing ongoing projects’ completion, connecting investments to performance rates, and ensuring an equitable distribution of local investments across the governorates.
Furthermore, the plan designates a substantial portion of public investments, totaling EGP 268 billion, or 27%, to the education, health, and social services sectors.
