Egypt is restructuring a military-affiliated organization in charge of industry, agriculture, and key commodity imports into a more comprehensive economic body that will answer directly to the president of the country, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Agricultural project linked to Africa’s most powerful military has been given new ‘authority’ [Image: The Arab Republic of Egypt’s presidency]
- Egypt is restructuring the military-affiliated ‘Future of Egypt’ authority into a new economic body directly overseen by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
- The reformed organization will have expanded powers, including creating tax-exempt zones, managing state-owned businesses, and overseeing various financial and investment funds.
- The authority has played a crucial role in the nation’s food security by managing large wheat purchases since 2024 and has diversified into sectors like real estate, energy, and manufacturing.
- The ‘Future of Egypt’ project is strategically located near major transport links, supporting large-scale agriculture with significant canal and irrigation expansions.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has approved legislation reforming the ‘Future of Egypt’ authority into a new economic body with additional powers and duties, according to the nation’s official gazette, which was released on Monday.
DON’T MISS THIS: Africa’s most powerful military inaugurates a new military HQ with a US-inspired twist
As seen on Reuters, the authority will be empowered to create tax-exempt sustainable development zones, assume control of state-owned businesses and property, and manage various financial and investment funds under the new legislation.
The authority’s position in Egypt’s economy is further strengthened by the reorganization.
Future of Egypt has been in charge of overseeing one of the biggest wheat purchase projects in the world since 2024, which is essential to the nation’s food security.
The company has gradually expanded its presence in several key industries outside of grain imports.
It currently controls important lakes and fisheries, has the biggest stake in the Egyptian Commodities Exchange, and has branched out into building, real estate development, renewable energy projects, and baby formula manufacturing.
The Future of Egypt project is situated along the 120-kilometer Rod El Farag–El Dabaa corridor, which was constructed as part of Egypt’s National Road Project.
It is a key center for large-scale farming because of its proximity to transportation networks, export routes, and agricultural inputs.
A 41-kilometer canal expansion that can deliver up to 10 million cubic meters of water per day will support the project and aid in increasing irrigation to around 700,000 more feddans.
Modern irrigation systems have already been used to restore and cultivate some 350,000 feddans.
Approximately 8 billion Egyptian pounds (EGP) have been invested in the development, according to the Egyptian government.
Almost 500 kilometers of internal roads, groundwater wells, two power plants with a combined capacity of 350 megawatt-hours, and a 200-kilometer electrical network linked to the wider New Delta power grid are just a few of the infrastructure projects that have received funding.
Additionally, it has produced about 360,000 indirect jobs and roughly 10,000 direct jobs, and employment is anticipated to increase as the project grows.