Egypt Daily News – The Hayah Karima “Decent Life” initiative, launched in 2019, has significantly transformed rural life across various villages in Egypt over the past five years. With a remarkable investment of 350 billion Egyptian pounds, this initiative has implemented 23,000 projects across 1,477 villages in 52 centers within 20 governorates.
The initiative is structured in three phases extending until 2030, with a total anticipated investment of around 2 trillion pounds. The planned financial allocations for each phase are as follows:
- First Phase (2021/2022 to 2024/2025): 350 billion pounds
- Second Phase (2024/2025 to 2027/2028): 650 billion pounds
- Third Phase (2027/2028 to 2029/2030): 1 trillion pounds
Upper Egypt, particularly the poorest governorates, has received significant attention, with about 68% of the projects directed towards this region, positively impacting around 11 million citizens—61% of the total beneficiaries nationwide.
The initiative has led to substantial improvements in quality of life indicators, including:
- A 65% enhancement in the availability of basic services.
- An 11% increase in the financial inclusion index between 2021 and 2023.
- Loans amounting to 37.2 billion pounds made available for small and micro enterprises, benefiting 1.67 million individuals.
A focus of the initiative is improving essential services, with goals to:
- Increase sewage coverage from 27.5% to at least 80%.
- Achieve full drinking water service coverage by extending networks over 2,350 km.
- Expand natural gas access in villages from 10% to 75%.
- Provide 1.8 million household sewage connections, line 1,654 km of canals, and deliver 4.6 million housing units.
Additionally, under the directives of the President, the initiative includes plans to develop and enhance the road infrastructure within the targeted municipalities. A total of 2,900 km of roads have been earmarked for upgrades, with 330 km already completed, comprising 210 km in Upper Egypt and 120 km in the Delta region.
Overall, the Hayah Karima “Decent Life” initiative illustrates a comprehensive effort to uplift rural communities in Egypt by improving infrastructure, enhancing services, and fostering economic development through targeted investments and projects.
