Health, education, transport, social solidarity and infrastructure all witnessed remarkable progress, prompting the public to renew confidence in the incumbent president.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday took the constitutional oath for a new term in office before the House of Representatives at its new headquarters in the New Administrative Capital (NAC).
President Sisi secured a third-term in the presidential election, which took place in December 2023, after receiving over 39.7 million votes, representing 89.6 per cent of eligible voters.
“A new chapter of the new republic is opened as President Sisi takes the oath for a new presidential term,” House Speaker Hanafi Gebali said, adding that the nation is passing through a watershed and is facing many challenges.
Gebali said the Egyptian people chose President Sisi to lead the country and proceed with the march of development.
President Sisi’s sweeping victory in the latest presidential election came as no surprise to a large number of ordinary people and observers. Behind Sisi’s election win are the achievements he made in the past ten years in office.
Developing health system
Developing the health sector has always been a top priority for the state since President Abdel Fattah El Sisi took over about ten years ago. This has been evident in the rise of public spending on health to LE222 billion in fiscal year (FY) budget 2022-2023, compared to LE32 billion in 2014.
The president increased allocations to health and education by more than 30 per cent in FY 2024-2025.
Several initiatives have been carried out to care for Egyptians’ health and improve quality of their lives, topped with ‘100 Million Healthy Lives Initiative’ and ‘100 Healthy Days’ which have benefited millions of people all over the country.
The initiatives covered elimination of hepatitis C, early detection of non-communicable diseases, maternal healthcare, early detection of genetic diseases in newborns, early detection and treatment of hearing impairment for children, early examination of anemia, and obesity for school students, follow-up of women’s health and treatment of chronic diseases, early detection of kidney disease, and ending waiting lists for surgical treatment. The government offers comprehensive healthcare by improving medical services in all state-run hospitals and medical facilities.
Last October, the World Health Organisation (WHO) awarded Egypt the Gold Level Certificate for eliminating hepatitis C, a chronic viral infection that affects millions of people worldwide. Egypt was the first country in the world to receive this certification, after reducing its infection rate from 14.7 per cent in 2015 to less than 1 per cent in 2021.
The certificate was presented to President Sisi by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on October 9.
Electricity issue of national security
Energy, electricity in particular, has always been a “national security” issue in Egypt, and over the past ten years it has experienced an unprecedented boom thanks to strong support from President Sisi.
New power stations have been established and existing ones have been developed. An additional 29,000 megawatts were added to the national grid, bringing the total to 56,000 megawatts, according to Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker.
Egypt aims to reach 60 per cent dependence on renewable energy by 2040 — an update to the previous target of 42 per cent by 2030, Shaker said in recent press remarks.
In the meantime, Egypt has signed a number of agreements with international partners to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
The country is seeking to become a global hub for green hydrogen production.
The Egyptian state is seeking to reduce emissions and develop the use of renewable and alternative energy sources over the coming years, including green hydrogen, as part of its National Climate Strategy 2050.
As per this strategy, Egypt aims to produce green hydrogen at the lowest cost worldwide by 2050 at $1.7 per kg and capture 8 per cent of the global hydrogen market.
Comprehensive transport network
The transport sector has received great attention from the state under President Sisi over the past ten years, covering all areas of the sector, roads, railway, ports and bridges.
Egypt has built around new 13 road axes and 935 bridges across the country to increase their numbers to 51 axes and 2,435 bridges over the past ten years, according to recent statements by Minister of Transport Kamel el-Wazir.
Up to LE530 billion has been spent on 7,000 new main roads, creating a network of 30,500 kilometres.
For the first time, a high-speed rail will reach Abu Simbel in Aswan, el-Wazir said, referring to major transport projects such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
By 2030, Egypt will have seven land ports that serve 3 million transits, three dry ports and two logistical areas, the minister said.
Between 2021 and 2030, the wharves at Alexandria port will be equivalent to twice the length of dock areas built since the era of Muhammad Ali Pasha,” el-Wazir added.
The total costs of ministry projects for the period 2014-2024 have hit LE2 trillion.
Decent housing for all
The housing received unprecedented attention under President Sisi as part of enormous efforts for overall development across the nation.
Over the past ten years under President Sisi, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities has offered housing programmes to meet rising demand in rural and urban areas to provide proper housing units for people of all classes, giving priority to young people.
Up to 1.05 million housing units have been completed in various projects in new cities, and more 350,000 are under construction, totaling 1.4 million worth LE607 billion, Housing Minister Assem el-Gazzar said. The largest share of these units is part of the National Social Programme.
Up to 226 drinking water and sanitation projects have been either completed or under construction, costing a total LE94 billion, and 1,516 water facilities for the new cities at a total cost of LE17.2 billion, in addition to the implementation of 18,216km of roads, 136 bridges, 20 car tunnels, and 42 pedestrian subways and bridges, completed in recent years.
Deputy Chairman of the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) Walid Abbas said that the real estate map in Egypt has undergone radical change under President Sisi.
News cities
The number of fourth-generation cities in Egypt currently stands at 39, foremost of which are the New Alamein and the New Administrative Capital (NAC).
Total of investments in the new cities across the nation has reached LE705 billion so far, including LE163 billion in the NAC, Abbas said.
The urban area across the nation increased from 7 per cent to 14 per cent over the past ten years under Sisi, thanks to the fourth generation cities.
Food security as crucial as ever
President Sisi always stressed the prime importance that Egypt attaches to the issue of food security and many projects have been implemented in the sector over the past few years.
One of the major projects is the New Delta national project to reclaim 1 million feddans (acres) and create 200,000 jobs.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade launched major national projects aimed at enhancing services, preserving the strategic stock of all basic food commodities, and providing thousands of jobs through the establishment of logistics and commercial zones.
The two leading initiatives Decent Life and Takaful and Karama (Solidarity and Dignity) projects, have played a key role in state efforts to better services and achieve food security by developing the Egyptian countryside and secure livelihoods for millions of people.
The Ministry of Supply has also launched a broad national project to establish seven giant strategic food warehouses in collaboration with the private sector in order to increase the stock of basic goods and supply public demand throughout the year.
The foundation stones for the first warehouse were laid in Suez for a 10-acre site. The warehouse will cost a LE1 billion. A second warehousing facility is being built in Luxor on 10 feddans (acres) at a cost of LE1.5 billion to serve four governorates in Upper Egypt, a recent ministerial statement said.
Women: Further social, political opportunities
In recent years, Egypt has made unprecedented breakthrough in empowering women and gender equality, thanks to the genuine political will of the government which sincerely believes that women’s empowerment means empowerment of the whole community.
The Egyptian National Women’s Strategy 2030 envisions that by 2030, Egyptian women will become active contributors to the achievement of sustainable development in a nation that guarantees their constitutional rights, ensures their full protection, and provides – without discrimination – political, social, and economic opportunities that enable them to develop their capacities and achieve their full potentials.
Under the leadership of President Sisi, great progress has also been made for women in positions of state power. In 2013 there were three female ministers. Now, for the first time, there are eight female cabinet ministers.
In February 2017, President Sisi appointed for the first time a woman governor, Nadia Abdo for the governorate of Beheira, and later, Manal Awad Mikhail was appointed as governor of Damietta in August 2018. Egyptian women have also achieved an unprecedented level of representation in the Parliament.
