Upper Egypt Local Development PforR

closed

The development objective of the Local Development Program-for-Results Project for Egypt is to improve the business environment for private sector development and strengthen local government capacity for quality infrastructure and service delivery in select governorates in Upper Egypt. The lack of opportunities for sustainable jobs and growth continue to be significant challenges for the Arab Republic of Egypt. These challenges strongly manifest themselves in Upper Egypt, a grouping of tengovernorates that lag significantly behind the rest of the country in economic growth,employment generation, connectivity, and access to services. Three key constraints, in particular, contribute to weak economic activity in Upper Egypt and relatively low level of private investment: (a) limited empowerment, effectiveness,and accountability of subnational governorates; (b) continuing low levels of access and quality ofinfrastructure and services for both citizens and businesses; and (c) weak investment climate andthe weakness of economic factors supporting value chain development. The first critical constraint to private-sector-led economic growth in Upper Egypt islimited empowerment, accountability, and effectiveness at the governorate and district level. The second constraint is a relatively low level of access and poor quality ofinfrastructure and services for residents as well as firms. The third key constraint to private-sector-led growth in Upper Egypt is the weakinvestment and business climate, with business owners citing obstacles and delays in obtaining licenses, permits, and serviced land. The Government of Eqypt (GOE) has recognized the need for a differentiated strategy for lagging regions and views an integrated approach to private-sector-driven local development as the bestway to reduce poverty in lagging regions like Upper Egypt.