Senate approves FY 2023-24 development plan: The Senate gave final approval to the government’s FY 2023-2024 economic and social development plan in a vote yesterday. The approval came following two days of debates. The plan will now be sent for discussion at the House of Representatives.

In a nutshell: The government’s development plan — drawn up by the Planning Ministry in tandem with the Finance Ministry’s annual budget — aims to draw EGP 1.65 tn in investment, EGP 1.05 tn of which will come from the government and EGP 600 bn from the private-sector. The plan also targets 4.1% GDP growth for the coming fiscal year.

El Said indicates cautious debt policy: The government will only take on soft foreign-currency loans to use for its long-term development objectives, Planning Minister Hala El Said told senators on Sunday. “We as a government are implementing a policy of austerity measures and spending cuts that aim to contain inflation and boost investments,” she said. The Finance Ministry has held talks with several international lenders in recent weeks including Citibank and the New Development Bank about receiving new concessional loans.

Remember: Egypt’s external debt has quadrupled over the past decade, reaching a recordUSD 162.9 bn in 2Q 2022-2023.

And cautious spending: The development plan does not allocate public money towards new development projects in the coming fiscal year, said El Said, adding that only projects that have passed 70% completion will receive investment. New national projects requiring significant FX expenditure or where construction has yet to begin have been on hold since January as the government looks to mitigate the ongoing FX crunch.

** The Senate will now take a two-week break before reconvening on 18 June.

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