{"id":1609,"date":"2025-06-11T12:56:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T12:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1609"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:56:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T12:56:51","slug":"whats-the-deal-with-egypts-debt-funded-megaprojects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1609","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Deal With Egypt&#8217;s Debt-Funded Megaprojects?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome to <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this week: <strong>Egypt <\/strong>unveils plans for another urban megaproject, the <strong>Wagner Group<\/strong> leaves Mali after three and a half years, and Ghana recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over <strong>Western Sahara<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/africa-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"africa_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"Africa Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-africa_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-africa_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"africa_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Egypt\u2019s Debt-Funded Megaprojects<\/h3>\n<p>Earlier this month, Egypt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jirian.net\/\">unveiled plans<\/a> to develop a new 1,680-acre desert city named Jirian. The massive initiative will see roughly 7 percent of the country\u2019s annual Nile River quota rerouted from fertile delta regions via a human-made channel that winds through the city. It will be located near the colossal Grand Egyptian Museum, which <a href=\"http:\/\/nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/16\/travel\/grand-egyptian-museum-open-cairo.html\">recently opened<\/a> on the outskirts of Cairo, and the Sphinx International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>It is the latest in a string of megaprojects undertaken by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. These have included a $59 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/04\/20\/saudi-arabia-line-neom-cities-egypt-new-administrative-capital-architecture-autocracy\/\">new administrative capital<\/a> east of Cairo, a $1.3 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/arij.net\/investigations\/transportation-crisis-ciro-en\/\">monorail<\/a>, a $23 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/urbantransportnews.com\/news\/egypt-awarded-the-15-year-operating-contract-for-its-first-high-speed-rail-project\">high-speed rail<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zawya.com\/en\/projects\/construction\/egypt-will-build-15-new-fourth-gen-cities-in-coming-years-prime-minister-mtenm3jj\">several<\/a> other planned upmarket cities\u2014all financed with soaring external debt.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt\u2019s hope is that these projects will spur long-term growth and development. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has <a href=\"https:\/\/thearabweekly.com\/egypt-plans-new-desert-city-mega-project-supplied-diverted-nile-water\">said<\/a> that the Jirian development, for instance, will create 250,000 jobs and homes for millions of families.<\/p>\n<p>Yet <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/research\/2025\/05\/the-second-republic-the-remaking-of-egypt-under-abdel-fattah-el-sisi?lang=en\">critics<\/a> argue that these undertakings are just another way for the Sisi regime to ensure its grip on the country. Since Sisi led a military coup against Egypt\u2019s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013, the military has been closely involved in many government projects. As firms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigates\/special-report\/egypt-economy-military\/\">connected to<\/a> the military gain control over more prime real estate, many of the country\u2019s urban poor are being <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/sada\/2021\/05\/the-sinister-side-of-sisis-urban-development?lang=en\">moved<\/a> to the outskirts of cities, making it harder to mobilize mass unrest.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, multilateral lenders and governments continue to pour billions of dollars into Egypt. The country receives loans from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/egypt-signs-expanded-8-billion-loan-deal-with-imf-2024-03-06\/\">International Monetary Fund<\/a> (IMF), the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2025\/05\/19\/egypt-council-and-european-parliament-secure-agreement-on-macro-financial-assistance\/\">European Union<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/markets\/commodities\/china-development-bank-disbursed-7-bln-yuan-to-egypts-central-bank-idUSP8N3BH07A\/\">China<\/a>, as well as grants from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/egypt-announces-massive-35-billion-deal-uae-develop-ras-el-hekma-north-coast\">United Arab Emirates<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/english.ahram.org.eg\/NewsParis\/217712.aspx\">Saudi Arabia<\/a>. Egypt\u2019s external debt has climbed from $37 billion in 2010 to <a href=\"https:\/\/english.ahram.org.eg\/News\/545741.aspx\">$155 billion<\/a> as of last September.<\/p>\n<p>An initial $3 billion IMF bailout package approved in 2022 was expanded to <a href=\"https:\/\/english.ahram.org.eg\/NewsContentP\/3\/545745\/Business\/IMF-team-arrives-in-Cairo-for-fifth-review-of-Egyp.aspx\">$8 billion<\/a> in March 2024. In April, the EU approved a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2025\/05\/19\/egypt-council-and-european-parliament-secure-agreement-on-macro-financial-assistance\/\">$4.6 billion<\/a> loan package for Egypt.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Egypt has partnered for many of its infrastructure projects with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3313333\/china-centre-egypts-new-capital-which-will-house-6-million-people\">Chinese<\/a> companies, including the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation. And the UAE has invested <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/egypt-announces-multi-billion-uae-investment-boost-forex-2024-02-23\/\">$35 billion<\/a> in a project in Ras El Hekma, a planned resort destination on the Mediterranean coast.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Egyptian economy is recovering this year, as financial reforms required by the IMF have put the country on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-03-26\/egyptian-economy-grows-at-quickest-quarterly-pace-since-2022\">growth<\/a> trajectory, many analysts warn that Sisi\u2019s failure to curb spending on vanity projects could harm the country\u2019s economic prospects.<\/p>\n<p>In February, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/naguib-sawiris-urges-egypt-to-rethink-overambitious-mega-projects\/v1l1rxl\">called for<\/a> the country to reconsider its foreign-funded megaprojects spurred by what he described as \u201can overambitious president.\u201d Last month, international trade expert Nermin Tahoun <a href=\"https:\/\/www.egyptindependent.com\/economist-says-egypts-debt-servicing-bill-exceeds-50-of-public-spending\/\">warned<\/a> that Egypt\u2019s debt service burden surpasses 50 percent of its public spending and could lead to worse fiscal challenges for the country.<\/p>\n<p>The Jirian luxury city is expected to take five years to complete. In the meantime, poverty in Egypt is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2025\/01\/16\/egypt-repression-rising-poverty-sisis-second-decade\">on the rise<\/a>, and ordinary Egyptians continue to face a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/features\/invisible-toll-inflation-egyptian-families\">cost-of-living crisis<\/a>. Inflation hit a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/news\/te_news:461156:0-egypt-inflation-rate-hits-4-month-high\/\">four-month<\/a> high in May, reaching 16.8 percent.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>The Week Ahead<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Wednesday, June 11, to Friday, June 13: <\/strong>The Africa Impact Summit is held in Accra, Ghana.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thursday, June 12:<\/strong> Kenyan Treasury Secretary John Mbadi presents the 2025-26 budget to parliament.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria celebrates Democracy Day, which marks the restoration of democracy in 1999 following the annulled 1993 presidential election that culminated in a military coup.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Watching<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sudan\u2019s civil war. <\/strong>The number of people who have fled Sudan since war broke out in 2023 between factions loyal to rival generals has surpassed 4 million, according to the latest data from the U.N. refugee agency.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, agency spokesperson Eujin Byun <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/more-than-4-million-refugees-have-fled-sudan-since-war-began-un-says-2025-06-03\/\">described<\/a> the war as \u201cthe world\u2019s most damaging displacement crisis at the moment.\u201d \u201cIf the conflict continues in Sudan \u2026 we expect thousands more people will continue to flee, putting regional and global stability at stake,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wagner exits Mali.<\/strong> On Friday, Russia\u2019s paramilitary Wagner Group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/africa\/wagner-group-leaving-mali-heavy-losses-russia-africa-corps-remain-rcna211591\">announced<\/a> that it would leave Mali after more than three and a half years as the country grapples with a worsening Islamist insurgency.<\/p>\n<p>In a message on its Telegram channel, Wagner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/ce3ve0e7ndzo\">said<\/a> it was withdrawing after \u201cthe completion of its main mission,\u201d during which it had killed \u201cthousands of militants and their commanders, who terrorized civilians for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet the announcement comes as the al Qaeda-linked Jama\u2019a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin has <a href=\"https:\/\/thesoufancenter.org\/intelbrief-2025-june-5\/\">intensified<\/a> its attacks on Malian military bases in recent weeks. Wagner suffered its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2024\/07\/30\/russias-wagner-has-deadliest-loss-africas-sahel-highlighting-regions-instability.html\">deadliest<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/01\/world\/africa\/russia-wagner-mercenaries-mali.html\">setback<\/a> in Africa in its history last July, when at least 50 of its mercenaries were killed in an ambush by Tuareg rebels in North Mali.<\/p>\n<p>Africa Corps, which is seen as the Kremlin\u2019s successor to Wagner, will replace the group in Mali. Around 70 percent to 80 percent of its troops are former Wagner mercenaries, Reuters recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/russias-wagner-mercenary-group-says-it-is-leaving-mali-after-mission-2025-06-06\/\">reported<\/a>. One key difference between the forces, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/africa\/wagner-group-leaving-mali-heavy-losses-russia-africa-corps-remain-rcna211591\">analysts<\/a>, is that Africa Corps engages less in direct combat and instead provides training and weapons to Malian soldiers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rwanda quits bloc.<\/strong> Rwanda said on Saturday that it is pulling out of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) as tensions rise over its involvement in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda backs the armed M23 rebel group, which has seized swaths of land in eastern Congo this year.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda was supposed to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting over the weekend, but the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role instead. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RwandaMFA\/status\/1931457965271494673\/photo\/1\">statement<\/a>, Rwanda said that its right to assume the chair was \u201cdeliberately ignored in order to impose [Congo\u2019s] diktat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the summit, ECCAS <a href=\"https:\/\/presidence.cd\/actualiteune-detail\/actualite\/a_malabo_les_chefs_detat_de_la_ceeac_ordonnent_le_retrait_des_troupes_rwandaises_de_la_rdc\">ordered<\/a> Rwanda to withdraw its troops from Congo. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PatrickMuyaya\/status\/1931622716555067492\">said<\/a> on Sunday that ECCAS\u2019s actions \u201cshould inspire other regional organizations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shift on Western Sahara.<\/strong> Ghana has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. It now sees Rabat\u2019s plan for the disputed region as \u201cthe only realistic and sustainable basis to a mutually agreed solution,\u201d according to a joint statement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/ghana-endorses-moroccos-autonomy-plan-western-sahara-2025-06-05\/\">issued<\/a> on Thursday after Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met in Rabat.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1979, Ghana had supported the Algeria-backed Polisario Front in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that boasts rich Atlantic fishing grounds. The Polisario Front has sought full independence since the 1970s, but over the years, Morocco has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlanticcouncil.org\/in-depth-research-reports\/report\/the-western-sahara-conflict-a-fragile-path-to-negotiations\/\">consolidated<\/a> control over 80 percent of the area.<\/p>\n<p>Until recently, most countries supported a U.N.-brokered plan to have the territory\u2019s fate determined by a future referendum. But in the past year, Kenya, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom have changed tack and backed Moroccan sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>This shift comes as Morocco builds a <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/world\/africa\/new-atlantic-port-of-dakhla-africa-trade-spc-intl\">$1.2 billion trade port<\/a> in Western Sahara and countries seek to boost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/starmer-morocco-western-sahara-deal-b2762169.html\">economic ties<\/a> with Rabat. Ghana and Morocco have <a href=\"https:\/\/citinewsroom.com\/2025\/06\/ghana-secures-major-bilateral-deals-with-morocco-in-education-aviation-and-trade\/\">scheduled<\/a> a joint business forum in Morocco for October.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>This Week in Culture<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Human Somali exhibit. <\/strong>Researchers are attempting to trace the stories\u2014and descendants\u2014of those who lived in a Somali village in the city of Bradford, England, in 1904. A group of around 100 Somali men, women, and children were brought to the purpose-built village as part of a six-month exhibition that attracted an estimated 350,000 visitors.<\/p>\n<p>So-called human zoos of Africans became popular <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.wcs.org\/News-Releases\/articleType\/ArticleView\/articleId\/14648\/A-Statement-from-the-Wildlife-Conservation-Society.aspx\">in the United States<\/a> and Europe around the turn of the 20th century. Germany, for instance, had around 400 <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/07\/21\/world\/black-during-the-holocaust-rhineland-children-film\">human exhibitions<\/a> by the 1930s. The people living in them were often expected to give daily performances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many aspects of this story that are definitely uncomfortable,\u201d Yahya Birt, a community historian working on the Bradford project, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c9dq3zq29vgo\">told the BBC.<\/a> \u201cThe best history happens when you\u2019re made to feel uncomfortable because it makes you question your own assumptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>African Christians.<\/strong> Africa has replaced Europe as the region with the largest Christian population, according to a Pew Research Center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2025\/06\/09\/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020\/\">report<\/a> released Monday. As of 2020, more than 30 percent of the world\u2019s Christians live in Africa, compared with roughly 22 percent in Europe.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>FP\u2019s Most Read This Week<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Reading<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Africa\u2019s balancing act.<\/strong> Africa faces significant geopolitical challenges as it navigates not just policy reversals in Washington and U.S.-China competition, but also relationships with emerging trading partners such as India, Turkey, and the Gulf states vying for the continent\u2019s critical assets, Mebratu Kelecha <a href=\"https:\/\/africasacountry.com\/2025\/06\/between-washington-and-beijing\">writes<\/a> in <em>Africa Is a Country<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn theory, this competition for African markets could increase African leverage\u2014a chance to play suitors off one another for better terms. But in practice, it could also become a race to the bottom,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can the African Union survive?<\/strong> In the<em> Republic<\/em>, Afolabi Adekaiyaoja <a href=\"https:\/\/rpublc.com\/june-july-2025\/african-union-pan-africanism\/\">argues<\/a> that the African Union is on borrowed time, especially as public disillusionment grows over the bloc\u2019s willingness to condemn military power grabs but not constitutional coups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo further rebranding or retrofitting will stem the increasing disillusionment citizens feel with the body and the looming fear of a future without an AU,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/11\/egypt-megaproject-new-city-jirian-infrastructure-sisi-debt\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Foreign Policy\u2019s Africa Brief. The highlights this week: Egypt unveils plans for another urban megaproject, the Wagner Group leaves Mali after three and a half years, and Ghana recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday. Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}