Egypt

Engineering Consultants Group (ECG), a private consulting firm (Egypt) was commissioned by the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) and Upper Egypt Electricity... Show More + Production Company (UEEPC) to prepare the technical documents and procedures required by the World Bank Group (WB) and other Development Banks concerning the environmental and social assessment of the Helwan South Power Project. EEHC is seeking financial assistance from the WB for the construction and operation of this 3x650 MWe, dual fuel supercritical steam power plant. The plant is designated as a category A project under WB rules, a category one project under the AfDB's rule and a category C project under the Egyptian environmental regulations and therefore requires a full environmental impact assessment. Financing from World Bank (WB) and other development banks is conditional upon obtaining the environmental clearance from both the Egyptian regulatory authorities and the International and Regional Banks, i.e. the WB and other development banks. Show Less -

This sector note presents the results of the World Bank-led study on the development of a strategy of the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt to respond to air... Show More + quality problems in Greater Cairo. The Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area (GCMA) is the largest urban and industrial center in Egypt, which, in 2009, was ranked eighth among the world's top urban agglomerations. Twenty million people live and work in Greater Cairo, which is surrounded by major heavy industries to the north and the south, including large, as well as small and medium enterprises. As in many megacities in the world, air pollution has been a chronic problem in Greater Cairo. The persistent air quality problem represents a serious hurdle to the competitiveness that is a key to the socioeconomic development of Greater Cairo and therefore the nation. An action plan has prepared for the implementation of the main sectorial policies. This action plan will have to be developed and changed where required because it can only be implemented within a coherent framework of environmental, energy, and economic policies that need to be defined and adopted by the government. Therefore, the action plan, as presented in this report, should be considered as a basis for ongoing discussions with the government. These discussions must, in any case, be continued to support the implementation of the work that has been initiated through this report. The action plan also identifies the entities that should be involved in or responsible for implementing and monitoring specific activities. Show Less -

The project is an integral part of Egypt's strategy which aims to expand the uses of natural gas as a clean source of energy. This project aims to provide natural gas... Show More + to the Atfeeh power station and to strengthen the national network of gas. The Egyptian Company for Natural Gas (GASCO) is taking the responsibility of the implementation of this project, with funding and assistance from the World Bank. EcoConServ has been asked to prepare an environmental and social impact assessment including a resettlement policy framework, in compliance with the requirements and regulations of the Egyptian Government and the World Bank. The project includes construction of a pressure reduction station inside the Atfeeh power station, as well as eight valve rooms along the route of the pipeline, which aid in isolating leaks and performing maintenance. Show Less -

The Helwan South 3x650 megawatts (MWe) Steam Power Plant Project is an integral part of the Egyptian electricity sector's on-going program to meet the ever increasing... Show More + demand for electricity generation. The new thermal power plant will be constructed at a selected site south of Helwan Governorate, which is along the Nile river and about 10km south of the village of Kureimat in the Dayr El-Maymoun area. The site is within an existing piece of land allocated to the Upper Egypt Electricity Production Company (UEEPC) by presidential decree no. 43 of 2010 issued on 14 February 2010 for the development of the power plant. The overall site area is approximately 378,000 m. The power plant will consist of three supercritical thermal steam units, with a nominal electricity generating capacity of 650 MWe each, which will be known as Helwan south power plant. The overall generating capacity of the power plant will be 1950 MWe. The power plant is intended to be operational by the end of the year 2014. The power output from the plant will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). Show Less -

From 2008 to 2011, Egypt was hit by significant shocks, both global and country-specific. This paper assesses the impact of the resulting macroeconomic instability on... Show More + the banking sector, and examines its role as a shock absorber. The Central Bank of Egypt accommodated the shocks by supplying liquidity to the market. The paper verifies a change in the fiscal regime from one in which the primary fiscal balance was used an instrument to stabilize the public debt ratio to one in which the policy instrument stopped playing that role and affected investors' assessment of the risk of holding public debt. This pattern suggests that fiscal conditions influenced exchange rate and price expectations originating a fiscal dominance situation in which the Central Bank could not control inflation. Hence, the Central Bank lacked functional independence in spite of its de jure independence, which underscores the importance of strengthening institutions that facilitate policy coordination and allow policy to be more predictable. The government also funds itself through non-market mechanisms, in a typical financial repression scheme. The paper estimates the revenue from financial repression at about 2.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2011, which together with the revenues from seignoriage add up to close to 50 percent of the budgeted tax revenues, indicating the need for an in-depth review of the governance of the public banks and the funding of public sector activities. Finally, the paper estimates the impact of shocks to macroeconomic variables on loan portfolio quality and bank capital. Show Less -

The January 25th revolution is an enormously important political event for Egypt, but attention to its economic consequences is also vital. The Egyptian revolution reflected... Show More + a popular movement in favor of dramatic changes in the way citizens were governed and the way resources and opportunities were distributed in society. Expectations were extremely high, especially among the youth, for a new era of a more responsive government and an economy that offered employment, more inclusive growth and stability. Prior to the revolution, Egypt had high unemployment rates. The unemployment rate for 15 to 24-year-olds in particular was estimated at 33 percent. It also points to the need for improved competition in financial services, and competitive forces more generally, to address the needs of fast-growing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Show Less -

The health equity and financial protection datasheets provide a picture of equity and financial protection in the health sectors of low-and middle-income countries.... Show More + Topics covered include: inequalities in health outcomes, health behavior and health care utilization; benefit incidence analysis; financial protection; and the progressivity of health care financing. The tables in this report show how health outcomes, risky behaviors and health care utilization vary across asset (wealth) quintiles and periods. The quintiles are based on an asset index constructed using principal components analysis. Benefit-Incidence Analysis (BIA) shows whether, and by how much, government health expenditure disproportionately benefits the poor. The distribution of subsidies depends on the assumptions made to allocate subsidies to households. Under the constant unit cost assumption, each unit of utilization is assumed to cost the same and is equal to total costs incurred in delivering this type of service divided by the number of units of utilization. Show Less -

This paper provides relevant indicators and measurements useful for public policies seeking the expansion of equitable human development opportunities for Egyptian children... Show More + and youth. To measure equitable access to opportunities, the authors use the Human Opportunity Index to examine the evolution of 16 basic opportunity indicators grouped in four sectors: education, basic housing services, early childhood development, and nutrition and hunger. The main findings show that during the last decade most opportunities for children and youth improved unambiguously,for the first two sectors, but were stagnant for nutrition and early childhood development opportunities. Although the urban-rural and interregional gaps were partially reduced, there are still substantial opportunity gaps between children in favorable and unfavorable circumstances. Parents' education, income per capita, urban-rural location, number of siblings, and regional location, are the five most important factors affecting equality of opportunity, although their impact varies across indicators. Show Less -

Egypt has some of the best wind resources in the world at the Gulf of Suez. To tap this resource, the Government has set a target that by 2020, 20 percent of electricity... Show More + should come from renewable sources, such as wind. The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) has undertaken wind farm development efforts and promoted private investments in renewable energy generation. Investment in wind farms required the removal of energy pricing and capital market barriers. The capital market in Egypt does not provide suitable product for wind farm development. Typically, a private investor would be offered an interest rate of 13 percent with loan maturity of only 8 years. In addition, a 30 percent equity is required for the loan. The bond market is almost non-existent in Egypt. Show Less -

This is an overview of the causes as well as possible solutions for traffic congestion in Cairo, taken from a Cairo Traffic Congestion Study (Phase 1) which is available... Show More + as report number 71845. This overview also provides potential solutions, based on the work of the ongoing Phase II of the Cairo Traffic Congestion Study and previous studies, including the World Bank's Proposed Urban Transport Strategy for Greater Cairo. It describes the many casuses for traffic congestion, from fuel subsidies to poor traffic planning. The economic costs could be as high as 4 percent of GDP. Solutions include improving public transport and making the use of private vehicles expensive. Improving traffic management and using traffic lights can be implemented quickly. Longer lasting and sustainable solutions include the expansion of the public transport system and revision of transport pricing. Show Less -