SFD allocates World Bank, EU funds for Egypt labour intensive project

Egypt’s Social Fund for Development (SFD) has allocated US$300 million for the country’s national Emergency Labour Intensive Investment Project during the period from 2013-2017.

The funds came from contributions of the World Bank’s US$200 million and the European Union’s US$100 million financings, Medhat Massoud, Head of SFD’s Central Sector for Human and Community Development, told Amwal Al Ghad Thursday.

The objectives of the Labour Intensive Investment Project for Egypt are: (i) to create short-term employment opportunities for unemployed unskilled and semi-skilled workers; and (ii) to provide access to basic infrastructure services to the target population in poor areas in the Borrower’s territory. Specifically, the operation will focus on two main components. The first component, employment-intensive sub-projects, will support two types of labour intensive sub-projects: (i) small-scale local infrastructure public works sub-projects: canal cleaning and protection, rehabilitation of schools, housing, and rural roads; and (ii) community service sub-projects. The second component, implementation support, will finance support to project management; audits, public information and communication; technical verification and quality assurance; monitoring and evaluation; auditing; and social accountability.

SFD is an autonomous development and poverty-alleviation agency set up under presidential decree 40 of 1991. It is an agency affiliated to Egypt’s Cabinet and is governed by a board of directors headed by the country’s prime minster.

The Central Sector for Human and Community Development (HCD) is responsible for managing the Labor Intensive Investment Project.