Watan-On Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree allocating 174.399 square kilometers (roughly 41,515 feddans) of state-owned land overlooking the Red Sea to the Ministry of Finance, for the purpose of reducing public debt and issuing sovereign bonds, as permitted by applicable laws.
The land stretches from Ras Shuqeir to Ras Ghamisa, south of the Gulf of Suez. While designated for financial purposes, Egypt’s military will retain ownership of areas with strategic significance. The decree also mandates registration in the official property registry, exempt from fees.
The move is part of Egypt’s broader asset liquidation plan, modeled after the $35 billion Ras El Hekma deal with the UAE in March 2024. Negotiations with Saudi Arabia over a similar Red Sea deal in Ras Gamila have stalled, partly due to Saudi objections over dollar-based payments.
Egypt Eyes Red Sea Assets and Gulf Equity Deals as Debt Soars Past $155 Billion
In October 2024, Egypt began offering Red Sea coastal areas like Ras Banas to Arab and foreign investors, seeking to stave off financial collapse. With delays in closing the Ras Gamila deal, Cairo is pushing to sell state-owned companies amid mounting debt and budget strain.
Ras Shuqeir and Ras Banas are ecologically rich areas, home to some of the world’s largest pristine coral reef clusters and include Bernice Port. They sit opposite Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu city, increasing their geopolitical value.
Reports suggest Saudi Arabia is exploring options to convert $10.3 billion in deposits at Egypt’s central bank—**$5 billion of which are short-term—**into equity deals in land and companies like Sira, which operates in education, and five others in real estate, healthcare, energy, finance, and food sectors.
Egypt’s budget deficit is expected to rise over 25% in FY 2025–2026, reaching 3.6 trillion EGP (approx. $70 billion). The Ministry of Finance plans to fill the gap through massive debt issuance, including 2.2 trillion EGP in treasury bills and 928.9 billion in treasury bonds, while expanding social spending.
Egypt’s external debt rose to $155.2 billion in Q1 FY2024–2025, up 1.5% from the previous quarter, though it’s down from $164.5 billion a year earlier. Still, debt has quadrupled in a decade, largely from borrowing via multilateral lenders and global bond markets. Over two-thirds of Egypt’s debt is USD-denominated.
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