(Ecofin Agency) - The construction and rehabilitation of road infrastructures captured a total of $291 million in Egypt last year.

According to the ministry of transport, an amount of EGP2.2 billion ($139 million) was invested in 26 projects to build a total of 524 km of roads. Another EGP2.4 billion ($152 million) was used to construct 7 bridges and an urban road, including the Adly Mansour road, four bridges along the Benha-Masoura highway and two bridges along the Cairo-Suez road.

The government’s efforts to upgrade road infrastructures in the country have paid off and Egypt has jumped 17 places to 28^th in the 2019 Road Quality Index, which is a component of the Global Competitiveness Index published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

This year, the Egyptian government intends to pursue its strategy, now focusing on rural areas. On 25 January, the Finance Minister, Mohamed Maait, announced that EGP3 billion (about $190 million) will be invested to establish an emergency plan for the development and modernization of road networks. One-third of this budget will be allocated to the Ministry of Local Development.

Romuald Ngueyap