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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Achievements and aspirations
By Ibrahim Nafie
President Mubarak will go down in history as one of the great builders of modern Egypt, not only for his achievements in development and modernisation, but also for the changes he has introduced in the structure of the state. Before Mubarak, Egyptians lived on 3.3 per cent of the land, as against 5.5 per cent today. This surface is expected to increase to 12 per cent when the first stage of the new mega-projects is completed, and to soar to 24 per cent by the time they are finalised. The expansion of the populated area is in itself a major change with significant social and topographical implications.
Mubarak has attempted to make of Egypt a single organic entity. The establishment of a network of communications and transportation is one of Egypt's most important accomplishments since the building of the Pyramids.
Until recently, Egypt had only one international airport; today, it prides itself on its ability to bring passengers from all over the world directly to Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm Al-Sheikh. Cairo International Airport is also being upgraded.
Alexandria, once the only equipped seaport available to shipping companies, used to suffer from congestion. The government had to pay large fines every year in delays. Now, a number of new international ports dot Egypt's shores. Fines are a thing of the past, and those ports which are still in the planning stages will provide surplus capacity.
The new road and railway networks have significantly cut down the time it takes to travel from one end of the country to the other. Dual-carriageways stretch from Cairo to Alexandria, along the North Coast as far as Siwa and Egypt's borders with Libya, and from the capital to Suez, Ismailiya and Aswan. New roads link the Red Sea area, stretching to Halayeb and Shalatin in the south, with the rest of the country. New roads stretch to Sinai. A modern railway system also criss-crosses Egypt.
Developments in communications have further reinforced these links. The older generation probably remembers the poor telephone system, and the long waiting lists (as long as 15 years to get a line). Today, there is a surplus in telephone lines, in addition to two mobile phone networks with half a million subscribers.
Egypt's infrastructure and related services such as water, electricity, sewage and irrigation, have been upgraded to respond to demand. Population growth, the establishment of new communities and economic expansion have been taken into account. Ambitious projects are envisaged for drainage, water and power stations reinforcing Egypt's infrastructure capabilities.
The construction and development process has been guided by a comprehensive vision. Integrated projects featuring agricultural, industrial and touristic dimensions have become the rule. Egypt's agricultural area, which had remained stable for many years at six million feddans (even decreasing due to land erosion before Mubarak came to power, to a low of 5.8 million feddans) today amounts to 7.5 million feddans. Soon another million in Sinai will be reclaimed when water resources are extended to these areas for the first time. The first stage of the Toshka project and the cultivation of areas skirting the North Coast are also promising. The "Desert Road" between Cairo and Alexandria is today flanked by greenery.
New settlements serving as links between major agricultural and industrial projects were the brainchild of Nasser, who built Madinet Nasr. Sadat followed suit, building 10 Ramadan City and laying the foundations for Sadat and 6 October Cities. In the past few years, Madinet Nasr has expanded to comprise 10 districts, while 10 Ramadan, which housed 100 factories at its inception, today boasts 1,000. Another 20 cities have been built, but the old urban agglomerations have been touched by modernisation too. Cairo, overcrowded as it is, now has flyovers, a ring road and an underground metro. Alexandria has been embellished, while Hurghada and Sharm Al-Sheikh are no longer isolated villages but thriving tourist centres.
Mubarak's efforts have been rewarded. For the first time in Egypt's history, the rate of development has surpassed population growth. With constant improvements in standards of living, Egypt has accommodated another 25 million inhabitants. Average per capita income, estimated at $300 a year in 1980, has shot up to its present $1,400 level in 20 years (in terms of purchasing power, to an average income of almost $4,000). In some areas, such as Port Said, the Canal Zone, Alexandria, Daqahliya and Damietta, income levels actually exceed average per capita income in real terms in the emerging Asian economies prior to the crisis.
The improvement in Egyptians' lives is reflected in the improvement of the quality of life. Child mortality in Egypt has dropped to almost the levels prevailing in developed countries. Life expectancy at birth, which was 57 in 1980, has increased to 67. Human development experts say that life expectancy at birth is not only an indicator of good health, but also an indicator of the improvement in the overall quality of life. Today, we are building four to five schools a day, and improving teaching techniques.
Each of Mubarak's predecessors had to deal with specific conditions, and there is no room for comparison; but under Mubarak, we must admit that the map of Egypt itself has changed drastically.
In the past three years, the growth rate has increased, and now exceeds that of other countries in the Middle East, including Israel. Last year, Egypt's growth rate was 5.7 per cent, and is expected to rise to six per cent this year. Mubarak has laid the groundwork for a high and constant growth rate. The achievements in growth have been paralleled by a fall to under five per cent in inflation rates, and by a decrease in the budget deficit to less than one per cent. The foreign currency reserve stands today at $19 billion.
Challenges remain, however. Most importantly, planners will be contemplating ways to bring down the birth rate from its present level of 2.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, revolutionise education, develop the technology base, and upgrade exports. President Mubarak envisages further improvements, mainly the completion of the democratisation process and the adoption of foreign policies consistent with domestic developments.
