Bank Projects Focus on Job Creation and Improved Access to Basic Services
CAIRO, November 13, 2013 – During a two-day visit to Egypt, the World Bank Regional Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Inger Andersen, affirmed support to the people of Egypt through continued engagement in job creation, energy sector reform, setting up social safety nets, education, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation.
The World Bank Group’s support to Egypt includes improving economic management and restoring sound macroeconomic framework; creating jobs and addressing unemployment; and fostering inclusion across the population by ensuring better access to good services for different groups especially youth, poor, women and those living in lagging geographical regions.
“Egypt has the potential to become a powerful emerging economy and the World Bank Group is committed to supporting the country’s priorities to reduce poverty and achieve shared prosperity,” said Inger Andersen. “Current projects are designed to create jobs for unskilled and semi-skilled labor and improve access to sustainable sanitation services particularly in rural Upper Egypt.”
Egypt and the World Bank recently signed the Helwan South Power Plant Project, a gas-fired power plant that will contribute 10 percent of the new generation capacity to be added by 2018. This is vital to deliver a more reliable supply of electricity across the country. The Egypt Emergency Labor Intensive Investment Project designed to create a quarter million jobs will generate immediate, short-term employment for unemployed, unskilled and semi-skilled workers through investments in public works in vulnerable communities.
“We have been sharing experiences from different regions in the world where countries faced similar challenges. Sharing lessons learnt in implementation further improves the effectiveness of the projects,” said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.
The World Bank portfolio in Egypt, the largest in the MENA region, includes 21 projects for a total commitment of US$4.6 billion.
