Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister, met today to follow up on the implementation of the first phase projects of the presidential initiative “Haya Karima” aimed at developing the villages of rural Egypt. The meeting included Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning and Economic Development; Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development; Engineer Sherif Al-Shorbiny; Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Dr. Sayed Ismail, Deputy Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Engineer Raafat Hindi, Deputy Minister of Communications for Infrastructure Affairs, Brigadier General Tamer El-Rouby, Representative of the Military Engineering Authority, Engineer Ahmed Abdel-Azim, Head of the Consulting Office (Dar Al-Handasah), Ali El-Sisi, Assistant Minister of Finance for Public Budget Affairs, along with officials from the concerned ministries and entities.
The Prime Minister began the meeting by emphasizing that the goal of this gathering was to review the final stages of the first phase of the “Haya Karima” initiative, identify the necessary steps to complete this phase and ensure the quick launch of various projects for citizens to benefit from. He also highlighted preparations for the initiative’s second phase, which is scheduled to begin in the upcoming fiscal year.
The Prime Minister tasked officials with prioritizing the completion of sanitation projects, stressing the importance of finishing them immediately, as these are the top demands of residents in rural areas. He underscored the need for focused efforts and the swift completion of these projects.
He also announced that a meeting would be held every two weeks to monitor the progress of the remaining projects in the first phase. The Ministers of Planning, International Cooperation, and Local Development were assigned to assess the operational status of all government complexes built and the plans for operating the remaining government complexes so that citizens could begin benefiting from them.
Engineer Randa El-Menshawi, the Assistant to the Prime Minister, presented several points related to the follow-up of the initiative’s first phase, including the proposed alternatives for securing funding needed to complete the first-phase projects. She also provided an initial estimate of the required financing for the first year of the second phase and updates on the operation and preparation of the service complexes in the phase. The Ministry of Local Development coordinated with various entities involved in the government complexes to assess the technological equipment and other necessary preparations.
Consultants from the Dar Al-Handasah office presented a detailed report on the status of the first-phase implementation, including the current completion rate of the total number of projects in the targeted villages, which amounts to 27,334 operations, covering significant projects.
The report included the completed sectors, those nearing completion, and the ongoing work under the Ministry of Housing and the Engineering Authority. It also provided updates on the remaining tasks to fully complete the first phase and adjusted the timeline.
The Minister of Planning and Economic Development reviewed the ministry’s role in managing the financial aspects of the “Haya Karima” initiative and monitoring developmental performance indicators. She mentioned that the monitoring report for the fiscal year 2023-2024 had been prepared, and a follow-up report for the first half of the current fiscal year, 2024-2025, was being prepared for 20 governorates.
The initiative has benefited 52 centers, with 332 local units, and 1,477 villages have received support under the first phase, benefiting 18 million citizens. She pointed out that Upper Egypt’s share of the first phase budget allocations reached 68%, with 70% of the investments directed towards human development. Green public investments amounted to 30%.
The minister highlighted key performance indicators for the first phase, noting a 366% improvement in the number of subscribers to natural gas services from July 2021 to December 2024, a 58% increase in sewage services, and a 41% rise in high-speed internet service availability.