Manufacturing in driver’s seat as Egypt seeks to lift GDP

Egypt is banking on strong performance in five sectors to achieve GDP growth of more than 5 percent in its next fiscal year, a minister has said.

The five are manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, tourism, construction and agriculture, according to planning and economic development minister Ahmed Rostom.

Cairo also plans to develop new financing tools to attract more private capital, in line with recommendations from the International Monetary Fund, Rostom told a conference on African economies on Tuesday.

Egypt’s government is targeting GDP growth of 5.2 to 5.4 percent in the 2026/27 fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

Growth was 5.3 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year, 2025/26.

The five sectors are expected to contribute around 63 percent of the GDP growth targeted for 2026/27, he said.

Manufacturing is due to account for 29 percentage points of that total, wholesale and retail trade for 11 points, tourism for 9 points and construction and agriculture for 7 points each.

Rostom said the government was working to diversify “innovative” financing tools for infrastructure projects, including expanding public-private partnerships, using sustainable financing instruments and enhancing the use of development financing to improve infrastructure efficiency.

His predecessor as planning and economic development minister, Rania Al Mashat, has previously said that growth in 2026/27 would be a result of expansion in the tourism sector, strong private sector participation and an influx of global companies tempted by better investment incentives.

She said the private sector was expected to play a strong role thanks to more incentives and the sale of some public entities.

“Another factor is that the government intends to expand the private sector’s role in the management and development of the country’s airports, including Hurghada airport, one of Egypt’s largest civilian airports,” Mashat said.

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