Egyptian contracting companies are negotiating with the Iraqi Ministry of Health to participate in the implementation and rehabilitation of 12 hospitals in Iraq, with a total investment of $480 million.

 

Egyptian contracting companies are moving to expand their business outside Egypt and seize business in countries that allocate billion-dollar investments for reconstruction and development, especially in Iraq and Libya, in light of the current slowdown in government investments in Egypt in the field of infrastructure and contracting, as part of the government’s plan to make room for the private sector.

 

At the end of last January, the Egyptian Council of Ministers agreed to reduce 15% of investment spending in the budget for the current fiscal year 2023-2024, taking into account a number of exceptions, including those whose availability rate exceeded 50%. It also prohibited concluding any contracts on these projects whether By direct order or public tenders until the end of the current fiscal year.

 

Sources familiar with the file said in an interview with “Eqtisad Al-Sharq” that a delegation that includes eight officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Health is currently visiting Egypt to discuss the qualification of Egyptian contracting companies, including “Arab Contractors” and “Concrete Plus” to submit technical and financial offers for the implementation of a number of hospitals.

 

Iraq needs $88.2 billion to implement reconstruction projects inside the country, which witnessed great destruction during the war against ISIS, according to previous statements by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.

 

The CEO of the Egyptian Concrete Plus Company, Tarek Youssef, said that a company is currently being established in Iraq to participate in contracting work in the Iraqi market. He revealed that the company had submitted a technical offer to build hospitals for the Iraqi government.

 

Expansion into foreign markets has become a strategic goal for the Arab Contractors Company, wholly owned by the Egyptian government, with the aim of diversifying sources of foreign currency, according to what a company official told “Eqtisad Al-Sharq with Bloomberg” last March, indicating that the company seeks to work to increase its various projects in the East region. The Middle East and Africa and opening new markets there.