Egypt’s minister of investment and international cooperation, Sahar Nasr, signed four agreements with the head of operations of the French Development Agency (AFD), Laurence Breton-Moyet. The agreements which are valued at €259 million mainly aim to support power sector, waste water treament and healthcare.

Nasr said the financing is divided in loans and subsidies. The first loan granted to the ministry of finance, €175 million, will help support a government-initiated reform programme in the energy sector. This loan will come with a €3 million subsidy which aims to support a technical programme carried out by the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy.

AFD also agreed to provide a third facilty worth €31 million for a project to boost basic healthcare service quality in Egypt. Under this facility, €30M will be in the form of a loan while remaining €1 million will be a grant.

Last, the fourth loan valued at €50 million, will be dedicated to the establishment of a plant where will be treated waste water from Easter Alexandria. The project includes the construction of a "sludge digestion unit" connected to the existing water treatment unit, the largest in Alexandria. It processes 800,000 cubic metres of water each day. The project should start in the second half of 2017 after all the agreements have been finalized.

Fiacre E. Kakpo