The Egyptian government asked for US$400 million loan from the World Bank to finance labor-intensive projects with 50 percent of the loan, while the other half will finance micro and small-sized enterprises, Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement this demand came during a meeting between Nasr and Asad Alam who is the World Bank country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.
Qena and Sohag governorates are to start the implementation of this program, based on a set of criteria including population size, poverty rates, and economic capacity, following parliament's approval on Monday of the World Bank's funding for the development Upper Egypt.
The statement said the agreement aims tob raise economic growth rates and achieve development on the basis of increasing support for the private sector to create more sustainable jobs and ensure the continuation of the development of all other productive areas in industrial zones in Upper Egypt, and the expansion of the delivery of basic services and infrastructure required for citizens.
