Around $130bn-worth of agreements have been signed or reconfirmed over the past few days, during the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, as foreign dignitaries and companies flocked to the country.

Under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt is trying to paint itself as a safe place to work and invest in, as he attempts to kick-start the economy. His plan is to attract both foreign investment to fund major infrastructure projects and the companies that can develop them.

In terms of value, the biggest announcement during the conference has been for the $45bn first phase of the new capital city development, located between Cairo and Suez city. The seven-year project is being developed by a new venture called Capital City Partners. The company’s board includes Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of the UAE’s Emaar Properties.

The city itself will be spread across 700 square kilometres and will include a new public transport system and a population of about 5 million. With almost 14 per cent of the country’s 87 million citizens unemployed, and youth joblessness even higher, the project will also create 1.7 million jobs.

The UAE was one of four GCC countries to pledge a combined total of $12.5bn to Egypt. Along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, they each pledged $4bn and Oman $500m. The money will be used to support Egypt’s economic recovery and to promote regional stability.

The UK’s BP also said it would push ahead with its $12bn investment to develop the North Alexandria oil and gas field. Work on Egypt’s largest hydrocarbons field will create 5,000 jobs and once fully operational, it is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet a day of gas.

BP CEO Bob Dudley said the size of the investment to restart the project was a sign of the confidence the company now has in the country.

Meanwhile, Italy’s Eni signed a $5bn, five-year investment contract to produce 900 million cubic feet of gas. The details of the deal have yet to be agreed and will be finalised over the coming six weeks. 

Egypt has suffered a chronic electricity shortage, with households and businesses struggling under frequent power cuts, particularly during the hot summer months. To alleviate this, several contracts were signed to develop the power sector. This includes $13bn-worth of independent power project (IPP) deals to develop much needed facilities around the country.

Two of the contracts involve Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, one for a $7bn, 4GW coal plant and a second for a 2GW combined-cycle plant. UAE renewable energy developer Masdar also signed an IPP deal for 1GW of solar and wind facilities.

Although values were not given, Germany’s Siemens had a busy time at the economic development conference, signing a contract to develop the 4.4GW combined-cycle Beni Suef power plant. Siemens will provide the turbines and act as the contractor. It signed a further agreement to develop an additional 6.6GW of combined-cycle facilities in the future, along with up to 10 substations, although a date was not given.

The German firm also signed a deal to provide 2.2GW of wind power in Egypt. Under the deal, Siemens will build a factory in Egypt to manufacture the blades and turbines for the facilities, creating additional jobs in the country.

Finally, Egypt signed $6bn-worth of contracts to develop two ports, and Russia said it was overseeing $5bn-worth of commercial deals with the country.

The port deal is between Egypt’s Transport Ministry and the UAE’s Al-Suwaidi Group, with China Harbour Engineering Company acting as the main contractor and port operator.

The conference has been a major success for Al-Sisi and his ministers. Egypt has put itself front of mind in the investment community and has stated very clearly that the country is open for business and will welcome international companies that can redevelop its infrastructure and provide much-needed jobs for its citizens. Now, Al-Sisi and his government must deliver on its planned investments.