Egypt and the African Development Bank have signed a $170 million agreement for the second phase of the Private Sector Development and Economic Diversification Support Program. The deal aims to bolster the state budget and advance structural reforms, including a $400,000 grant to enhance environmental sustainability at the Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant. The signing was attended by key government officials.
In a move to strengthen economic reforms, Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, and AfDB Country Manager Abdourahmane Diaw signed the agreement on Monday. The deal is part of government efforts to coordinate with national entities and maximize relations with multilateral partners to implement the National Structural Reform Program.
Al-Mashat stated that the agreement fits into broader initiatives to mobilize concessional financing, expand fiscal space for human development programs, and advance structural reforms. She highlighted that AfDB’s private-sector financing operations in 2025 were three times higher than government operations. “This underscores Egypt’s openness and readiness for new partnerships and foreign investments that can drive innovation, sustainable growth, and long-term development,” she said.
The PSD-EDSP II follows the first phase, approved by the House of Representatives in December 2024 with $131 million. For the Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the world’s largest, the grant aims to improve operational efficiency. This comes after a May agreement to finance its fourth phase, increasing treatment capacity from 1.6 million cubic meters per day to 2 million. The project will benefit about 8.6 million residents in Giza Governorate by providing agriculture-suitable water and protecting local ecosystems.
The ministry has previously announced that concessional financing for the state budget from 2023 to 2026 totals around $9.5 billion, aimed at supporting macroeconomic stability, improving the investment climate, and stimulating Egypt’s shift to a green economy.