Noozz CAIRO: The Minister of Finance has announced that the government will launch Egypt s first tender for construction of 50 schools under the Public-Private-Partnership arrangement (PPP contracts) before the end of this month. The Ministry of Finance has already taken practical measures to construct 3,500 schools over the coming six years. The Minister of Finance Youssef Botrous Ghali said the PPP contracts will be long-term and based on international terms. "The ministry has drawn on the international expertise for PPP contracts from the United Kingdom, Greece, South Africa and the Netherlands, he noted. Rania Zayed, head of the PPP Contracts Department and advisor to the Minister of Finance, said that the Ministry of Education has prepared numerous sites for construction of schools under the PPP arrangement. "The offers will be made on six phases each will include construction of 50 schools, she elaborated. Zayed defended the PPP contracts, noting that such an arrangement would improve the quality of services and reduce the burden from the government's budget. "This arrangement will not affect the government s ability to intervene in the service pricing, she added. "But it will encourage investments and boost up job creation. She also claimed that PPP contracts will stimulate growth rates and attract more international grants, while the government will maintain the right to regulate and control the service providers, particularly in terms of quality standards. The first phase of the PPP scheme for construction of schools will include building up to fifty schools in eleven Egyptian governorates, including Al-Sharqiya, Kafr Al-Sheikh, Alexandria, Giza, Cairo.
