Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed said that the state has a keen interest in the idea of establishing a sovereign fund. The ministry has reached the final stages in this regard, she said, after many visits to several countries to discuss with them and access agreements for the principles of the law. A proposed bill is now with the cabinet for review.

Al-Saeed added, at the Builders of Egypt Forum, that investment in this type of fund needs a strong infrastructure to attract other international funds through its investments.

The minister pointed out that the Egyptian economy has already begun to reap the benefits of reform in the second half of 2017. Growth rates started to rise again to reach 5.3% during the current quarter, compared to 3.6% in the same period last year, which represents a large growth rate, she said.

Al-Saeed said that real estate and construction sectors are the main ones driving growth. The construction sector contributed 17.7% to the economic growth rate last year, she said. In addition, it has provided jobs directly and indirectly as a result of its interrelationship with many industrial sectors and mining, which contributed 3.7 million jobs during the past three years, thus contributing to the provision of employment for 20% of the total workforce, making it a leading sector in providing employment.

She noted that the private sector is the main partner in achieving development, especially in the field of infrastructure construction and the establishment of networks of roads, bridges, airports, ports, and logistics, which contribute to attracting more investments.

“The value of investments in infrastructure at the level of the governorates amounted to EGP 800bn during the last three years, including public investments estimated at EGP 400bn. The government intends to increase this by 20% over the next year,” Al-Saeed said.