Urban & Economy

Cotton Specters| Depleting the earth and its children

Long before technical fixes, Egypt’s cotton boom broke natural nutrient cycles, plunging fields into disease and forcing decades of grueling hand labor on rural children.

Osama Diab_

Cotton Specters| Depleting the earth and its children

Latest stories

State-ownership policy: Sweet talking the IMF into privatization mirage

Urban & Economy_

Four years after promising a $40 billion privatization drive, Egypt’s government doused the IMF’s ambition in bureaucratic quicksand while shielding military assets.

Beesan Kassab_

State-ownership policy: Sweet talking the IMF into privatization mirage

Samir Radwan: The soft-spoken economist with sound policies

Urban & Economy_

A tribute to the Keynesian economist who spent seven months as finance minister after the revolution, fighting for wages and transparency against the market’s old guard.

Salma Hussein_

Samir Radwan: The soft-spoken economist with sound policies

Fare hikes without brakes: Runaway debt derails Egypt’s railway reform

Urban & Economy_

Mounting debt service and rising fuel costs have pushed Egyptian National Railways back into the loss cycle, erasing a brief 2025 surplus and triggering fresh ticket price hikes.

Mohamed Ismail_

Fare hikes without brakes: Runaway debt derails Egypt’s railway reform

The ‘new’ North Coast: Exclusion comes home to roost

Urban & Economy_

The Marassi uproar exposes a deeper shift. As Egypt courts foreign buyers, the North Coast is being redesigned to exclude Egyptians, rich and poor alike.

Amr Adly_

The ‘new’ North Coast: Exclusion comes home to roost

Cotton Specters| Agriculture and the making of Egyptian dependency

Urban & Economy_

Integrating into global value chains extracted billions of labor-hours and cubic meters of water from Egypt, cementing a deep, historic pattern of structural unequal exchange.

Osama Diab_

Cotton Specters| Agriculture and the making of Egyptian dependency

Egypt’s war prep: The strait, the barrel, and the loaf of bread

Urban & Economy_

To survive the incoming shocks, Egypt must fundamentally restructure its crop patterns, enforce strict energy rationing, and abandon its reliance on energy-intensive exports.

Amr Adly_

Egypt’s war prep: The strait, the barrel, and the loaf of bread

Explainer| How does the new ration system work?

Urban & Economy_

As Egypt restructures its food subsidy system, public backlash mounts over sudden exclusions, bread price hikes, and the erosion of cash support value by inflation.

Abdelmageed Mohamed_

Explainer| How does the new ration system work?

Gold in central bank vaults: A mask for crisis, not a lifeline

Urban & Economy_

45% of central banks expect higher gold reserves. Gold’s share has doubled since 2021, raising questions about the dollar’s long-term dominance.

Amr Adly_

Gold in central bank vaults: A mask for crisis, not a lifeline

Designed to exclude: The commodification of Egypt’s public space

Urban & Economy_

If an able bodied man struggles to walk, rest, or simply exist in the city; what chance do women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities have?

Mohamed Elsayed Eid_

Designed to exclude: The commodification of Egypt’s public space

Why did remittances from Egyptians abroad rise during the war?

Urban & Economy_

War fears, labor uncertainty and a weaker pound drove a surge in Egyptians' remittances, helping cushion the currency and bolster dollar inflows.

Hager Atteya_

Why did remittances from Egyptians abroad rise during the war?

The structural trap of credit-fueled consumption

Urban & Economy_

While installment apps artificially boost purchasing power, fueling retail demand in an import-dependent economy inevitably deepens Egypt’s chronic trade deficit.

Amr Adly_

The structural trap of credit-fueled consumption

War clouds Egypt’s interest-rate path

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s central bank is expected to hold rates as war-driven price pressures complicate its easing plans and raise the risk of tighter policy later this year.

Hager Atteya_

War clouds Egypt’s interest-rate path

New oil and gas discoveries: more than hot air?

Urban & Economy_

Egypt keeps announcing new oil and gas finds, but most are too small to reverse falling output or curb costly energy imports.

Laila El-Abd_

New oil and gas discoveries: more than hot air?

TMG’s Spine and the concrete ambitions of Egypt’s biggest bank

Urban & Economy_

NBE’s stake in TMG’s The Spine project raises questions over banks’ growing appetite for luxury real estate and the risks of chasing high-end demand.

Hager Atteya_

TMG’s Spine and the concrete ambitions of Egypt’s biggest bank

Egypt's fuel subsidies: Priced for wishful thinking

Urban & Economy_

Cairo’s budget pegs oil at $75 despite $119 spot prices. Slashed subsidies and fiscal targets signal imminent fuel price hikes as Egypt moves to meet IMF energy commitments.

Sarah Abdelmofeed_

Egypt's fuel subsidies: Priced for wishful thinking

Fertilizers: An industry profiting under fire

Urban & Economy_

While energy prices soar, Egypt’s fertilizer giants are turning wartime disruption into record profits, leaving farmers and citizens to bear the brunt of rising food inflation.

Hager Atteya_

Fertilizers: An industry profiting under fire

Explainer| How Egypt avoided a dollar crisis during the Iran conflict

Urban & Economy_

Despite an estimated $8 billion in hot money outflows, exchange rate flexibility and robust dollar reserves shielded the Egyptian economy from another liquidity collapse like 2022.

Mohamed Gad_

Explainer| How Egypt avoided a dollar crisis during the Iran conflict

Trump burns Gulf capital, not just its oil

Urban & Economy_

As conflict disrupts energy exports, Gulf monarchies may be forced to liquidate Western assets to cover domestic shortfalls, in a self-inflicted wound to the US economy.

Amr Adly_

Trump burns Gulf capital, not just its oil

Egypt's emergency rations: Who is poor enough to count?

Urban & Economy_

In homes balanced on pensions, credit and charity, exclusion from a 400-pound grant reveals a deeper crisis of opacity and neglect.

Omneya Qalawoun_

Egypt's emergency rations: Who is poor enough to count?

Egypt’s debt trap tightens as war on Iran bites

Urban & Economy_

War-related shocks are exposing the fragility of Egypt’s recent economic gains, with rising import costs and weaker inflows reviving borrowing pressure.

Doaa Elsayed_

Egypt’s debt trap tightens as war on Iran bites

Explainer| Egypt enters the derivatives era, but what are they?

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s exchange is set to launch derivatives in March, starting with EGX30 futures. Here’s how they work, who benefits, and why leverage can cut both ways.

Hager Atteya_

Explainer| Egypt enters the derivatives era, but what are they?

What stalled Egypt's monorail, and who pays?

Urban & Economy_

Weeks after its expected launch, the New Capital monorail remains idle. Internal sources reveal that accumulated delays have cost the state at least 45 billion Egyptian pounds.

Mohamed Ismail_

What stalled Egypt's monorail, and who pays?

“Egypt’s Future” on the backs of peasants

Urban & Economy_

Transformations routinely presented as hallmarks of modernization and efficiency amount to a slow dismantling of the countryside’s capacity to reproduce its own life in practice.

Saker El Nour_

“Egypt’s Future” on the backs of peasants

The Zohr pipedream: Egypt's enduring gas gap

Urban & Economy_

Eni’s $8B pledge revives hopes for Egypt’s gas comeback, but insiders say there’s no new Zohr, and the giant field won’t return to peak output.

Laila El-Abd_

The Zohr pipedream: Egypt's enduring gas gap

Debt swaps and the devil in the details

Urban & Economy_

Egypt is moving past "quick fix" land sales like Ras El-Hekma to historic debt swaps. But is the $8B China deal a developmental win or a Sri Lanka-style risk?

Doaa Elsayed_

Debt swaps and the devil in the details

Buried in paperwork, Egypt’s gold incentives fail to glitter

Urban & Economy_

Egypt pitched new incentives to lure gold explorers, but the Sukari mine’s discoverer calls them cosmetic. Experts want transparent rules and predictable costs.

Laila El-Abd_

Buried in paperwork, Egypt’s gold incentives fail to glitter

Why Egypt’s budget problem isn’t subsidies

Urban & Economy_

Are subsidies really to blame for Egypt’s economic crisis? A closer look at budgets, debt, and IMF prescriptions reveals where the real pressure on public finances lies.

Elhamy Elmerghany_

Why Egypt’s budget problem isn’t subsidies

Unemployment may be falling, but labor market tells a deeper story

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s jobless rate dipped to 6.1% in Q2 2025, but shrinking cohorts and a mass exit from the labor force, especially among women, mask weak job quality and a coming youth surge.

Mohamed Gad_

Unemployment may be falling, but labor market tells a deeper story

Will GEM deliver the promised tourism boom?

Urban & Economy_

The Grand Egyptian Museum marks a milestone for Egypt’s tourism, but without broader development, it risks becoming another fragile pillar of an uneven economy.

Amr Adly_

Will GEM deliver the promised tourism boom?

The High Cost of Low Prices| Egypt’s agricultural exports

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s booming farm exports mask hidden costs—massive water loss, underpaid labor, and cheap prices shaped by global competition and currency devaluation.

Osama Diab_

The High Cost of Low Prices| Egypt’s agricultural exports

The High Cost of Low Prices| What do we exchange when we trade?

Urban & Economy_

Unequal trade burdens poorer countries with heavy environmental and labor costs while yielding little value, but collective strategies could shift global pricing power.

Osama Diab_

The High Cost of Low Prices| What do we exchange when we trade?

When fuel hikes make the school bus a luxury

Urban & Economy_

Fuel price hikes are driving up school bus fees across Egypt, forcing parents to seek cheaper, and often riskier, alternatives as transport costs begin to rival tuition.

Safia Mounir_

When fuel hikes make the school bus a luxury

The gain and pain of raising interest rates

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s high-rate policy curbed inflation but strangled industry; IMF program ends in 2026, raising debate over future priorities.

Mohamed Gad_

The gain and pain of raising interest rates

Life after the IMF: An opportunity to think outside the Fund

Urban & Economy_

After a decade of IMF loans, Egypt faces life beyond the Fund. Will Gulf deals and industrial policy replace debt, or repeat unsustainable fixes?

Amr Adly_

Life after the IMF: An opportunity to think outside the Fund

Trump, BRICS, and China’s long game

Urban & Economy_

Trump’s tariffs and interventions have strained ties with BRICS states, leaving China space to lead the bloc and potentially reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Amr Adly_

Trump, BRICS, and China’s long game

Why accept the Israeli gas deal’s take-or-pay terms?

Urban & Economy_

Israel’s amended gas pact locks Egypt into take-or-pay imports until 2040, raising costs and dependence as local output lags and demand keeps rising.

Mahmoud Salem_

Why accept the Israeli gas deal’s take-or-pay terms?

How much have Kamel Al‑Wazir’s loans cost us?

Urban & Economy_

Some of Egypt’s major transport projects took on commercial-rate loans, raising questions about costs, priorities, and long-term debt risks.

Mohamed Ismail_

How much have Kamel Al‑Wazir’s loans cost us?

Who can afford a beach house on the ‘wicked coast’?

Urban & Economy_

Skyrocketing property prices on Egypt’s “wicked coast” raise fears of a looming bubble, as Gulf buyers, expats, and elites drive demand beyond most locals’ reach.

Safia Mounir_

Who can afford a beach house on the ‘wicked coast’?

The Cairo of gated communities

Urban & Economy_

Behind guarded walls, a new 'Egypt' rises—globalized, affluent, and detached—while the other 'Masr', bears the weight of exclusion, memory, and revolt.

Alaa Khaled_

The Cairo of gated communities

Dollar drain: Egypt’s government crowds out the private sector

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s public sector doubled its dollar borrowing from local banks, squeezing private firms and prompting fresh warnings from the IMF over rising fiscal risks.

Doaa Elsayed_

Dollar drain: Egypt’s government crowds out the private sector

Gauging poverty and its impacts

Urban & Economy_

Poverty in Egypt has surged to 35.7%, with rising prices, low wages, and school dropouts deepening inequality. This report examines causes, impacts, and needed reforms.

Elhamy Elmerghany_

Gauging poverty and its impacts

2.3 million in debt: Chasing relief in Egypt’s consumer credit boom

Urban & Economy_

With inflation high and incomes strained, millions of Egyptians are turning to consumer credit to meet basic needs—fueling a lending boom that’s as risky as it is necessary.

Safia Mounir_

2.3 million in debt: Chasing relief in Egypt’s consumer credit boom

Water, watts, and wealth: The quiet sell-off of essential services

Urban & Economy_

Egypt’s new laws open water and power sectors to private firms, raising debate over pricing, access, and whether essential services should be commodified.

Ahmed Albordeny_

Water, watts, and wealth: The quiet sell-off of essential services

The IMF’s half truths

Urban & Economy_

The IMF blames Egypt’s weak private investment on state crowding out—but ignores its own role in fueling instability through interest hikes and austerity.

Amr Adly_

The IMF’s half truths

Fast track to privatization: Who’s running Egypt’s trains?

Urban & Economy_

Egypt turns to private operators for its new rail lines, seeking to boost performance and revenue after state-run failures. But what does this mean for commuters?

Mohamed Ismail_

Fast track to privatization: Who’s running Egypt’s trains?

Corruption as leverage: How institutional weakness fuels neoliberalism

Urban & Economy_

Institutional weakness isn't a flaw in the neoliberal system—it's a feature. This analysis reveals how lax regulations and the informal economy create a "comparative advantage."

Osama Diab_

Corruption as leverage: How institutional weakness fuels neoliberalism

Sayyida Aisha Bridge: a failure easier to blame on the jinn

Urban & Economy_

Dubbed the “Bridge of Death,” Sayyida Aisha Bridge saw decades of crashes, myths, and official denial—until its long-overdue demolition was finally announced.

Mohamed El Kholy_

Sayyida Aisha Bridge: a failure easier to blame on the jinn

Sayyida Aisha Bridge: The curse of asphalt in the sky

Urban & Economy_

The cult of the overpass continues to grow, despite the imminent demolition of Sayyida Aisha bridge. Will potential benefits exclude locals in another touristic walkway?

Ezzat Elkamhawi_

Sayyida Aisha Bridge: The curse of asphalt in the sky

The hidden toll of Ras El-Hekma

Urban & Economy_

The Ras El-Hekma deal rewarded investors and the state while local Bedouin tribes stand to lose their lands, their social fabric and their traditional ways of living.

Loay Hesham_

The hidden toll of Ras El-Hekma

Food company revenues soar as bellies rumble

Urban & Economy_

Egypt's food companies maintain profits against a backdrop of high inflation and finance costs while consumers tighten their belts.

Asmaa Abdel-Alim_

Food company revenues soar as bellies rumble

Nasser Social Bank: Boosting profits or helping the poor?

Urban & Economy_

Commercial loans like car financing boost Nasser Social Bank’s profits, but they also compete with its core mission: offering affordable credit to low-income Egyptians.

Eslam Aly_

Nasser Social Bank: Boosting profits or helping the poor?