Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali, Minister of Finance assured that the Government has taken a package of Procedures to strengthen the local economy and assist the sectors affected by the global financial crisis which aim to pump new investments in local markets during the coming period of between 25 to 30 billion pounds of which about 15 billion pounds through the National program public-private partnership ppp as the central unit of the public-private partnership of the Ministry of Finance in connection with the signing soon on a number of projects which will be invested by the private sector worth 15 billion pounds, such as building 345 new schools.

The minister added that other amounts, which range between 10 billion and 15 billion pounds, the government will inject it in the form of increased public spending on the planned budget of the State of the current fiscal year, including 5 billion pounds in new investment projects sanitation, drinking water and two billion pounds in construction projects and road development , Bridges, port development and one billion pounds increase in export subsidies and support of industrial zones, commercial areas and support increased financial allocations for the program of rehabilitation of employment and additional billion pounds to increase support for youth housing projects, which have been allocated one billion pounds annually to the General budget .

The minister said that there are other Procedures to increase funding in the banking system and encourage banks to reduce non-lending with a reduction in bank lending margins and emphasize the importance of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The minister emphasized that these increases in public spending will be funded through new and effective methods for the management of State funds, which have helped to achieve savings of private and public budget which is expected to decline support for the bill food commodities and energy after falling world prices. He pointed out that among these methods to maintain high growth rates of the economy which is in substantial revenue sovereign state without increasing any taxes or fees.

He explained that these expenditures will be funded partly through increased public budget deficit, these actions will be presented to the peoples assembly  in the coming period for approval.

The minister assured that there was no damage of the increase in the deficit, which will continue for a year at most as the national economy can absorb such an increase during the following year he said that the economic reform program succeeded in increasing the volume of new investments in the national economy of 100 million pounds to 200 billion  pounds in 4 year with a balance of payments surplus and trade balance surplus, which helped in  create 2.1 million new jobs in the formal economy during the last two years and reduce the budget deficit of 9.5% from 3 years to 6.8% last year.

He added that this year also witnessed an increase in wages by about 30% and pensions by 20% and the minimum for incentives in the localities to 75% of the total wage increase of 41 billion in 2004/2005 to 80 billion pounds in 2008/2009 and introduced radical improvements to teachers and doctors as renaissance pillar of education and health.
It also increased the total support from 58 billion pounds last year to 134 billion pounds in the current fiscal year budget.

Source: Minister of Finance))