23 June 2009
The Egyptian government's engagement in the West Delta project raises many questions regarding the repayment of the World Bank's loan.
In complete secrecy, the Egyptian government decided to partner with multinational companies for the West Delta Project which is being financed by the World Bank. This partnership will be between the Ministry of Finance and whichever company wins in the tender process. This reinforces doubts about the involvement of the state in the repayment of the World Bank’s loans for this project. Would the government be responsible for paying back this money or would it instead be the private corporation who was now responsible?
The government took this step after the reluctance of Egyptian and international companies to join this project. Now, however, Parliament is raising questions about the legitimacy of the Egyptian government to borrow from the World Bank for a project which benefits investors and business elites but meanwhile lays the burden of repaying this debt on ordinary Egyptian citizens.
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