Tanzania and Egypt announce major economic and infrastructure developments

Tanzania has expanded access to its public debt market for foreign investors to diversify funding sources amid declining international aid. The central bank has eased exchange rate regulations, allowing international investors to purchase Treasury bills and sovereign bonds without previous restrictions. Previously, access was limited to residents of the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Tanzanian citizens living abroad.

In a related development, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has facilitated a 100 million dollar offshore bond denominated in Tanzanian shillings to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These funds will be channeled through a local commercial bank to expand credit access for SMEs.

In Egypt, the government approved ‘The Spine’, a large-scale multifunctional development project in the Madinaty complex in New Cairo. The project covers over 212 hectares and is expected to attract approximately 1.4 trillion Egyptian pounds in investment, creating an estimated 55,000 direct jobs. The development will include residential, commercial, hotel, administrative, and tourism sectors.

Additionally, the Egyptian government authorized the Alexandria Port Authority to establish a new logistics center for chemical raw materials. To support energy infrastructure, an agreement was reached with the European Investment Bank to modernize the national power grid for renewable energy integration. Furthermore, a partnership between the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and Alcazar Energy was approved to construct a 407-megawatt wind farm in Zafarana.