Egypt. When the country name is mentioned, it is very likely that you picture ancient Egypt with all its fascinating mythology, history and a few tourist attractions such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
Maybe, if you are a sports lover, your first mental picture of the name Egypt is the football star, Mohammed Salah. If you are a nature lover, then you must know about the 6 deserts in Egypt.
Or maybe, you think about the top African Universities and Research Institutions based in the country. Fact check: Egypt has 3 Universities ranked among Africa’s Top 10.
Keep reading on and find out why Egypt is destined to be the most developed country in Africa. For nearly a decade, Egypt has been redeveloping its infrastructure. Safe to say that the largest of almost everything in Africa is found in this land of the pharaohs.
Egypt has 100% electricity access. In June 2021, Egypt demolished all the slums in the capital city, Cairo and moved 2,089 families (11,000 people) to a newly built city for the slum dwellers called Al-Asmarat.
The ambitious $25 Billion plan is to destroy all slums and unplanned cities and resettle the residents by 2030, in new modern design buildings.
Completed developments in Egypt
Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is responsible for some of the major reforms and ongoing developments underway in the country. He has held the reigns since 2014 to date.
At the 2020 Dubai Expo, Egypt was ranked 6th in the ‘Best African Countries to Invest in’. A year later at the same event, Egypt ranked 1st. Egypt made 97 Billion dollars of income revenue from tourism
Without much ado, let us delve into some of the fascinating works the Egyptians have completed in the country.
1. World’s largest water treatment plant
The world’s largest water treatment plant is located in the Sinai Peninsula. The plant known as Bahr El-Baqar was officially opened for operations in September 2021.
It holds 3 Guinness world records trophies for being the largest water treatment project in the world, the world’s biggest solar-powered sludge drying system and the world’s largest water production unit at 2,044,000,000 m3 annually.
The water plant processes 1,250,000 m3 of water daily and costs $1 billion. In Egypt, 80% of the water is used for agriculture while the remaining percentage is shared equally between household use and Industrial use. The Bahr-El-Baqar plant triple-treats water and optimizes water quality.
2. World’s largest archaeological museum
The world’s largest archaeological museum is a sight to behold, located in Giza, Egypt and covers 480,000m2. The $795 million project situated close to the Giza pyramids is often referred to as the Giza Museum or the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The building’s architecture and design are very modern, with a triangular shape. At the entrance to the museum is an ancient statue of the King of the country, Ramasses the 2nd who ruled the country in the 18th century.
The museum house the entire collection of artefacts that were recovered from the Tomb of King Tutankhamen. This includes King Tutankhamen’s mummy and two other small mummies which are widely believed to be his two still-born children.
3. Africa’s tallest building
Egypt has the tallest building in Africa known as the Iconic tower. The construction of this magnificent building started in 2018 and was completed in 2021. It is a sight to behold as it rises high to the sky, from a desert beneath.
The Iconic tower is the administrative tower of Egypt. It has 80 floors and stands 385 meters high and covers a ground area of 7,100,000 m2.
4. Africa’s longest monorail line
As the name suggests, a monorail is a railway that runs on a single rail, moving at a higher speed than metros and trains. Egypt has the longest monorail line system that traverses through 54km of land.
The Egyptian monorail can transport nearly 45,000 passengers per hour in each direction. The fully automated, driverless trains will have rubber tires to reduce noise, in addition to being corrosion-resistant and recyclable.
The 2.5 Billion Euros project is set for inauguration in 2023.
5. Africa’s strongest military and naval fleet
The Egyptian Armed Forces are Africa’s strongest military team and 12th overall in the global charts according to the Global Firepower Index (GFP) 2022. The Egyptian military has a PwrIndex of 0.1869, with 0.0000 considered perfect. It has a military population of 1,230,000 personnel.
The Egyptian Navy is also the largest in Africa and has the 6th largest naval fleet in the world with 32,500 personnel, 245 vessels; 8 Submarines and 23 Offshores patrol vessels.
The Egyptian Air Force is the strongest in Africa and ranks 6th globally. It has 1062 air crafts, 313 Helicopters and 91 Attack Helicopters.
The Egyptian army has 920,000 soldiers, and 10,000 armored vehicles including 4,394 tanks, 2,200 towed artilleries, 1,235 rocket projectors and 1,165 self-propelled artilleries.
The other amazing feats that the country has managed over the past 5 years include:
6. World’s 4th largest solar park known as Benban.
7. Africa’s biggest fish farm, Al-Fayrouz produces nearly 150,000 tonnes of fish annually.
Egypt successfully managed to build 10,000 factories in the last 7 years and is currently constructing 34 new cities. With these completed projects, Egypt raised its development rates to 6% and successfully doubled its G.D.P in 5 years.
Ongoing projects in Egypt
Egypt has the largest number of ongoing infrastructural projects in Africa. A whole new generation is under construction, with more than $ 20 Trillion for Megaprojects until 2050. These are some of the projects pending completion in Egypt;
1. Construction of 50 new universities
Egypt in partnership with prestigious universities from America, Europe, Japan and around the world has laid out a plan to build 50 new universities. This is because Egypt seeks to upgrade university education and become a magnet for students in the entire African region.
These universities will offer their students scientific majors so that they can keep pace with global development.
Take note that the number of Egyptian Universities was only 40 as of 2014. This figure is expected to be more than triple by 2030; at 130 universities.
2. 5 new luxurious coastal cities
Egypt is building 5 new luxurious coastal cities in Africa to double the number of its tourists from 13 Million to 25 Million in the next 5 years.
Other projects Egypt looks to finish before 2050 include;
3 Largest Olympic Sports City
4. Largest Shopping Mall
5. Largest first space research city
6. The world’s second largest mosque
7. World’s largest beet sugar factory
8. A sugar strategic crops production plant
9. The World’s 6th largest high-speed railway line.
10. 56 new airports
11. 40,000 kilometres of new highways
12. Land reclamation of 15 Million acres from the sea
13. 7 new capitals
14. 3,800 Kilometres of new speed railways
15. 40 new 4G cities
16. 12 new port harbours
17. 28 new industrial cities.
What Egypt has managed to pull off in the last 7 to 10 years was only just the beginning. Egypt is a nation that is on an upward trajectory of economic growth. Despite their external debt reaching $137.8 billion, the funds are utilized well and more is yet to come.