He also emphasized that the current reality demonstrates the government's seriousness regarding the private-sector partnership program, in parallel with its market-regulating role. He noted that partnerships enhance efforts to achieve a more advanced economy, where the benefits are greater than what the public sector can achieve alone. This importance increases with the vision's focus on investment as the most important source of state revenue.
El-Gamal added, in press statements today, that the issue of public-private partnerships is gaining significant importance in the coming period, especially since the state's financial resources are not sufficient to enable it to undertake these projects alone. He emphasized that the primary goal of the partnership is to stimulate the economy and motivate the private sector, which possesses the talent and expertise to drive growth and increase production, thereby reducing the trade deficit and increasing the current balance of payments.
He emphasized that partnerships work to create a strong, advanced, and balanced national economy, managed and shaped by governments, with their policies, legislation, and capabilities, and the private sector, with its flexibility, ambitions, and administrative and investment capabilities. He added that the implementation of partnerships has been delayed for at least ten years, and the time has come to implement the Public-Private Partnership Law as a means to achieve more employment, increase growth rates, and reduce the burden on the budget.
El-Gamal highlighted that partnerships between the public and private sectors mean that institutions from both sectors work together to establish projects and provide services to citizens, particularly in infrastructure projects, based on leveraging the best of each party's capabilities. He emphasized the importance of both parties bearing the risks of investment, planning, follow-up, monitoring, and regulation. He stressed the importance of partnership contracts as a strategic tool for financing infrastructure and public utility projects, in addition to national projects.
He explained that a sound legal and institutional framework alone is not sufficient to ensure the success of these partnerships. Rather, they must be accompanied by effective institutional arrangements, most notably a specialized unit for public-private partnerships, supported by resources and competencies, and with the active participation of government agencies, particularly ministries of finance and procurement and contracting entities.
He pointed out that, according to the Ministry of Finance, public-private partnership investments in Egypt could reach EGP 20 billion during the 2023/2024 fiscal year, reflecting the significant growth in cooperation between the government and the private sector in financing infrastructure and public utility projects.