Urban & Economy

What stalled Egypt's monorail, and who pays?

Weeks after its expected launch, the New Capital monorail remains idle. Internal sources reveal that accumulated delays have cost the state at least 45 billion Egyptian pounds.

Mohamed Ismail_ 24-2-2026

What stalled Egypt's monorail, and who pays?

“Egypt’s Future” on the backs of peasants

Transformations routinely presented as hallmarks of modernization and efficiency amount to a slow dismantling of the countryside’s capacity to reproduce its own life in practice.

Saker El Nour_ 5-2-2026

“Egypt’s Future” on the backs of peasants

Latest stories

Debt swaps and the devil in the details

Urban & Economy_

Egypt is moving past "quick fix" land sales like Ras El-Hekma to historic debt swaps. But is the $8B China deal a developmental win or a Sri Lanka-style risk?

Doaa Elsayed_ 11-1-2026

Debt swaps and the devil in the details

Buried in paperwork, Egypt’s gold incentives fail to glitter

Urban & Economy_

Egypt pitched new incentives to lure gold explorers, but the Sukari mine’s discoverer calls them cosmetic. Experts want transparent rules and predictable costs.

Laila El-Abd_ 6-1-2026

Buried in paperwork, Egypt’s gold incentives fail to glitter

Why Egypt’s budget problem isn’t subsidies

Urban & Economy_

Are subsidies really to blame for Egypt’s economic crisis? A closer look at budgets, debt, and IMF prescriptions reveals where the real pressure on public finances lies.

Elhamy Elmerghany_ 17-12-2025

Why Egypt’s budget problem isn’t subsidies

Unemployment may be falling, but labor market tells a deeper story

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s jobless rate dipped to 6.1% in Q2 2025, but shrinking cohorts and a mass exit from the labor force, especially among women, mask weak job quality and a coming youth surge.

Mohamed Gad_ 16-11-2025

Unemployment may be falling, but labor market tells a deeper story

Will GEM deliver the promised tourism boom?

Urban & Economy_

The Grand Egyptian Museum marks a milestone for Egypt’s tourism, but without broader development, it risks becoming another fragile pillar of an uneven economy.

Amr Adly_ 10-11-2025

Will GEM deliver the promised tourism boom?

The High Cost of Low Prices| Egypt’s agricultural exports

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s booming farm exports mask hidden costs—massive water loss, underpaid labor, and cheap prices shaped by global competition and currency devaluation.

Osama Diab_ 6-11-2025

The High Cost of Low Prices| Egypt’s agricultural exports

The High Cost of Low Prices| What do we exchange when we trade?

Urban & Economy_

Unequal trade burdens poorer countries with heavy environmental and labor costs while yielding little value, but collective strategies could shift global pricing power.

Osama Diab_ 6-11-2025

The High Cost of Low Prices| What do we exchange when we trade?

When fuel hikes make the school bus a luxury

Urban & Economy_

Fuel price hikes are driving up school bus fees across Egypt, forcing parents to seek cheaper, and often riskier, alternatives as transport costs begin to rival tuition.

Safia Mounir_ 30-10-2025

When fuel hikes make the school bus a luxury

The gain and pain of raising interest rates

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s high-rate policy curbed inflation but strangled industry; IMF program ends in 2026, raising debate over future priorities.

Mohamed Gad_ 28-9-2025

The gain and pain of raising interest rates

Life after the IMF: An opportunity to think outside the Fund

Urban & Economy_

After a decade of IMF loans, Egypt faces life beyond the Fund. Will Gulf deals and industrial policy replace debt, or repeat unsustainable fixes?

Amr Adly_ 25-9-2025

Life after the IMF: An opportunity to think outside the Fund

Trump, BRICS, and China’s long game

Urban & Economy_

Trump’s tariffs and interventions have strained ties with BRICS states, leaving China space to lead the bloc and potentially reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Amr Adly_ 3-9-2025

Trump, BRICS, and China’s long game

Why accept the Israeli gas deal’s take-or-pay terms?

Urban & Economy_

Israel’s amended gas pact locks Egypt into take-or-pay imports until 2040, raising costs and dependence as local output lags and demand keeps rising.

Mahmoud Salem_ 21-8-2025

Why accept the Israeli gas deal’s take-or-pay terms?

How much have Kamel Al‑Wazir’s loans cost us?

Urban & Economy_

Some of Egypt’s major transport projects took on commercial-rate loans, raising questions about costs, priorities, and long-term debt risks.

Mohamed Ismail_ 19-8-2025

How much have Kamel Al‑Wazir’s loans cost us?

Who can afford a beach house on the ‘wicked coast’?

Urban & Economy_

Skyrocketing property prices on Egypt’s “wicked coast” raise fears of a looming bubble, as Gulf buyers, expats, and elites drive demand beyond most locals’ reach.

Safia Mounir_ 12-8-2025

Who can afford a beach house on the ‘wicked coast’?

The Cairo of gated communities

Urban & Economy_

Behind guarded walls, a new 'Egypt' rises—globalized, affluent, and detached—while the other 'Masr', bears the weight of exclusion, memory, and revolt.

Alaa Khaled_ 7-8-2025

The Cairo of gated communities

Dollar drain: Egypt’s government crowds out the private sector

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s public sector doubled its dollar borrowing from local banks, squeezing private firms and prompting fresh warnings from the IMF over rising fiscal risks.

Doaa Elsayed_ 4-8-2025

Dollar drain: Egypt’s government crowds out the private sector