Dozens of Egyptian construction companies prepare to participate in the rebuilding of Sudan, with the Sudanese army scoring a series of victories in the Sudanese civil war, including most recently in the capital, Khartoum.
Sudan's civil war, which erupted in mid-April 2023 and pitted the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has caused the destruction of large swaths of Egypt's southern neighbouring country.
Apart from causing massive devastation in almost all Sudanese cities, the war also caused the displacement of millions of Sudanese citizens, both inside and outside their country, and opened the door for what is believed to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis in years.
Economically struggling Egypt stood at the receiving end of the exodus of Sudanese refugees after Sudan's civil war broke out, having received hundreds of thousands of Sudanese nationals who were extended a wide welcome mat and allowed to live side by side with Egyptians, even as Egypt had more than its full of refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, especially Syria.
Egypt has also provided support to the Sudanese army and worked tirelessly to rally Sudanese political forces behind ending the war and the international community behind offering humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people.
Returning favours
The victories scored recently by the Sudanese army do not mean that the war is over, especially with RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo declaring that his group would return stronger.
However, the RSF's pledged return will but make things worse for Sudanese cities and infrastructure which suffered massive devastation because of the war, making the bill of Sudan's aspired rebuilding more exorbitantly high.
Sudanese officials stated several times in the past months that Egypt would be given the lion's share in this rebuilding.
In giving Sudan's northern neighbouring country the largest slice of their country's reconstruction cake, these Sudanese officials seem to be returning some favours to Egypt for supporting the Sudanese army all throughout the war.
Egypt's readiness to get actively involved in Sudan's reconstruction was underscored by Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli on 25 February during a meeting in the New Administrative Capital, a new megacity Egypt is constructing in the vast Egyptian desert, with visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssif.
"Egyptian companies will work to bring about a speedy recovery and an improvement of conditions in Sudan on the earliest possible occasion," the Egyptian premier said during the meeting.
Egypt seems, meanwhile, to have prepared a plan for the reconstruction of Sudan, capitalizing on the advantages it has to carry out this mission, including proximity, expertise, the presence of skilled construction labour and also its abundant construction materials' production.
The two countries have agreed to form a joint working team to take steps for Sudan's reconstruction.
Cairo has also reportedly prepared a list of 52 local companies that will participate in Sudan's reconstruction.
It is not clear where funding for reconstruction operations will come from, particularly with Sudan's tough economic conditions because of the war.
However, a Sudanese newspaper suggested in late March that Sudan would repay for this reconstruction from its gold reserves or in exchange for farmland where crops needed for feeding Egypt's increasing population will be grown.
In Egypt, contractors say they are ready for participation in the reconstruction of the neighbouring country, possessing the required expertise and capabilities to rebuild parts devastated in Sudan by the Arab country's brutal civil war.
"Egyptian companies are ready for this mission and in very large numbers," Dakir Abdel Elah, a member of the Egyptian Federation of Construction Contractors, told The New Arab.
"Egypt boasts a huge number of companies with a distinguished record in all construction and development fields," he added.
He revealed that dozens of local companies have already expressed a desire to participate in Sudan's reconstruction and are waiting to hit the ground running, either by signing contracts or by being selected to implement specific projects.
Construction hub
Some Egyptian companies have already started implementing reconstruction projects in Sudan.
On 25 February, the Egyptian cabinet's spokesman referred to the expected role of local contracting companies in the reconstruction of Sudan.
He revealed that a local company had already been selected for the implementation of a reconstruction project in Sudan.
"The Egyptian government studies Sudan's needs, as far as the reconstruction file is concerned, in preparation for assigning specialised companies the implementation of the required projects," Mohamed al-Homosani said.
Egypt's expected contribution to Sudan's rebuilding compliments similar contributions in regional states where wars and conflicts have left their ugly toll on infrastructure, roads and homes.
Egypt has been trying to position itself as a construction model for fellow states in the region and the continent for several years now, having risen from almost a decade of turmoil in the aftermath of the downfall of the Hosni Mubarak autocracy in 2011, even at the cost of increasing its debts and financial pressures.
In the years that followed Mubarak's downfall, Egypt implemented tens of billions of dollars-worth of construction, infrastructure and development projects, utilising the expertise of its companies and its growing building materials' output.
These projects included a new capital in the desert, thousands of kilometres of roads, hundreds of bridges and flyovers, several new cities, including one in a World War II site on the Mediterranean, and a series of electricity and water plants, including ones for the desalination of seawater.
Egyptians blame the same projects for their economic suffering, lambasting the government repeatedly for preferring the implementation of infrastructure projects to subsidising food for the poor.
The government says, however, these projects are indispensable for the accommodation of the runaway population growth and the attraction of investments.
The same projects are also apparently proving Egypt's construction proficiency, turning the Arab country into a model for war-devastated regional states that seek to copy the Egyptian experience.
The Egyptian government is keen to organise guided tours for visiting foreign officials to the new capital and other infrastructure projects implemented in different parts of Egypt in the past few years.
Egyptian companies have already won bids for the implementation of numerous projects in regional states, such as Iraq and Libya.
In Africa, Egypt also tries to join the race for major construction projects, vying against Chinese, Turkish and European companies.
"Egypt is emerging as a major construction force in the region, thanks to its experience and capabilities," independent economist Khaled al-Shafie told TNA.
"The region is badly in need of this experience and these capabilities, especially with the toll regional conflicts are having on its states," he added.
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