Egyptian lawmakers are set to review a draft law that would dramatically expand the powers of the Future of Egypt Authority, an agency with a wide economic remit, and place it under presidential oversight, according to a copy of the bill seen by Reuters.
The draft law would confirm and formalise the rise of the agency under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since 2017, when Future of Egypt began as a small land reclamation project. It was transformed into an economic authority in 2022 by presidential decree and later took on handling of the country's wheat imports.
The draft law, the copy of which was stamped by the cabinet, describes the agency as having "independent" legal status and full financial, technical and administrative autonomy, with a mandate to "maximise Egypt's economic power" and support food, energy, water and national security.
The draft bill would be tabled amid a broader push, partly driven by International Monetary Fund pressure, to overhaul how Egypt manages state assets following bouts of acute economic pressure.
LAND RIGHTS, SOVEREIGN FUNDS
The draft law authorises the president, after cabinet consultation, to transfer privately-owned state money and assets, shares in state companies, and rights to manage public and private state property to the authority, without stipulating the need for parliamentary approval.
Central to the bill is the creation of "sustainable development zones" established by presidential decree, within which ownership of state land and facilities passes automatically to the authority, along with licensing and regulatory power.
The authority could design its own systems for governance, investment, registration and fee-setting inside these zones, which would receive free-zone-style tax and customs treatment.
In addition, the bill creates a sovereign wealth fund dubbed the Future of Egypt Sovereign Fund, or "Nile Pyramids", which will be tasked with investing state-designated assets domestically and abroad, partnering with foreign sovereign funds, and preserving wealth for future generations.
A parallel service fund, "Daem" (Support), would channel investment profits into education, health, housing and infrastructure projects framed around social justice and equal opportunity.
Both funds' executive directors would hold ranks equal to deputy ministers, and the authority's president a rank equal to minister, placing the body at the top tier of Egypt's executive hierarchy alongside the cabinet.
The draft law would also allow the authority to acquire other sovereign, economic, or investment national funds wholly owned by the state.
Future of Egypt didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
TAX AND LEGAL EXEMPTIONS
Since 2024, Future of Egypt has been entrusted with running one of the world’s largest wheat import operations. It has also assumed control over major Egyptian lakes and fisheries, acquired the largest stake in the Egyptian Commodities Exchange, and expanded into luxury housing and construction, renewable energy and infant formula.
By May last year, Future of Egypt had been mandated to reclaim about 4.5 million feddans — equal to nearly half of Egypt’s current cultivated land — including areas in the western desert and in Sinai, and land near Sudan and Libya.
Under the draft law, the authority and its funds would not be subject to laws governing public bodies, civil service, government procurement or maximum public-sector wages, and certain transactions would be exempt from value-added tax, stamp duty and registration fees.
The bill further restricts legal challenges to the authority's contracts and asset disposals to the parties directly involved, barring third-party lawsuits except where a final criminal conviction establishes an offence involving public funds.