00:00for decades upper Egypt was a land of promise rich in history culture and resilience yet
00:12held back by poverty and limited opportunity home to one-third of Egypt's population the
00:19region contributed just 13% of national GDP in 2016 infrastructure was weak job opportunities
00:28scarce and many were forced to leave their hometowns in search of better prospects but beneath the
00:47hardship lay extraordinary potential human talent natural resources and a community spirit waiting
00:56to be unleashed in 2018 that potential found its moment the government of Egypt in partnership with
01:04the World Bank launched the upper Egypt local development program a bold national reform to
01:10empower local administration boost competitiveness and build inclusive prosperity from the ground up
01:16with an investment of 957 million US dollars UELDP set out to transform not only upper Egypt's economy
01:26but the very way Egypt practices local governance shifting from top-down planning to performance
01:32based accountable citizen center development launched first in Sohaq and Kinnah then expanded
01:40to Menya and Asyut the program's success sparked a national wave of replication its principles now
01:47guide local development efforts across the country the mission was clear to make Upper Egypt competitive
01:53connected and inclusive through its twin pillars business competitiveness and infrastructure and service
02:00delivery UELDP tackled the toughest barriers weak services limited authority low investment and inadequate
02:10infrastructure industrial zones that once stood half empty now operate at record occupancy levels processing times
02:19for business and construction licenses dropped by more than 25% driven by digital one-stop-shop reforms
02:26thousands of enterprises from micro enterprises to medium industries gained access to improve infrastructure and business support
02:36agricultural furniture handicrafts and textile clusters were revitalized turning local strengths into competitive edges and as a result
02:48four industrial zones were fully developed while management systems in six others were modernized and upgraded
02:55essential utilities from water and sanitation to electricity and transport linkages were completed and integrated
03:03this contributed to an increase in occupancy rates across industrial zones compared to 2018 and
03:10and created over 396,000 direct and indirect job opportunities at the same time
03:1712,000 small and medium enterprises receive financial and technical support while 79,000 new business entities
03:26benefited from improved investment procedures and streamlined administrative services for the first time
03:33upper egypt's governorates became true investment destinations trusted by businesses for efficient transparent
03:40and well-managed industrial land and services more than 8.3 million citizens benefited directly from improved roads
03:49sanitation networks water access and public facilities over 32 billion egyptian pounds worth of infrastructure projects
03:59were planned and delivered with verified quality standards
04:03these improvements ushered in a measurable rise in human development indicators across the four targeted governor rates
04:11poverty rates declined after having exceeded 60 percent in several rural districts before the program
04:17unemployment fell to around 6 percent compared to 13 percent in 2018
04:25today citizens are no longer observers they are participants
04:29before the program if you were able to complete it, you would not be able to complete it
04:34because the program would be able to complete it in the gas and water
04:38if there was no program, you would not be able to do this
04:42public consultations shape investment priorities and grievance systems resolve issues with a 99 percent closure rate
04:50Governorate websites now disclose budgets investment plans and results
04:57citizen satisfaction with infrastructure services has surpassed 80 percent an unprecedented milestone
05:05for the first time local administrations are empowered to deliver a wider range of public services
05:11than in previous programs while playing a stronger role in driving local economic development
05:17these efforts now encompass a comprehensive portfolio of programs including the local economic development program
05:25the urban and rural development program the environmental improvement program
05:30the local transport and roads program the local and community services support program
05:37and the local administration and technical support program
05:41what began as a pilot in two governorates is now a national model of decentralized development
05:48recognized by the world bank and the united nations for advancing the sustainable development goals
05:57today upper egypt is no longer lagging it is leading from administrative fragility to institutional strength
06:06from out migration to attraction from dependency to empowerment this is only the beginning these figures
06:15tell a powerful story a story of targets exceeded lives improved and a region transformed most importantly they
06:24tell the story of a governance model that works one that empowers local administrations engages citizens and delivers
06:33sustainable results this is the new upper egypt a region of opportunity innovation and dignity
06:42transforming regions empowering people building the future
