Egypt allocates land to reduce public debt
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily News Egypt
Abdel Fattah al-Sissi allocated about 26,690 feddans of state land in the Red Sea region to Egypt’s Finance Ministry to reduce public debt and issue sovereign sukuk. The measure supports the goal of bringing debt down to about 69.5% of GDP by 2030, according to the Egyptian government.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi allocated about 26,690 feddans of state-owned land in the Red Sea governorate to the Finance Ministry to reduce public debt and issue sovereign sukuk, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette. The text amends Article 1 of Presidential Decree No. 222 of 2026, which initially reserved the land solely for the issuance of sovereign sukuk.
The area concerned represents about 112.1 million square metres. The expanded authorised use now allows these public assets to be allocated to debt reduction in addition to financing through sukuk.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also reviewed with Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk measures to reduce the debt of entities covered by the state budget. According to Kouchouk, the ratio of this debt to GDP fell by about 14 percentage points between June 2023 and June 2026, while the external debt of budget entities declined by the equivalent of 3.9% of GDP during the 2025-2026 financial year.
The recommendations of the Egypt Forum 2026 aim to bring public debt down to about 69.5% of GDP by 2030, with ceilings for public debt, external debt and sovereign guarantees. Mostafa Madbouly asked administrations to prepare a detailed debt-reduction plan, with tasks assigned to each ministry and public body.
