WednesdayEgyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi looks on during a meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025.The Arab Weekly | 08 July/2026

The bill creates a sovereign wealth fund dubbed the Future of Egypt Sovereign Fund, which will be tasked with investing state-designated assets domestically and abroad.

CAIRO

Egyptian lawmakers are set to review a draft law that would dramatically expand the powers of the Future of Egypt Authority, an agency with a wide economic remit, and place it under presidential oversight, according to a copy of the bill.

The draft law would confirm and formalise the rise of the agency under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since 2017, when Future of Egypt began as a small land reclamation project. It was transformed into an economic authority in 2022 by presidential decree and later took on handling of the country’s wheat imports.

The draft law, the copy of which was stamped by the cabinet, describes the agency as having “independent” legal status and full financial, technical and administrative autonomy, with a mandate to “maximise Egypt’s economic power” and support food, energy, water and national security.

The draft bill would be tabled amid a broader push, partly driven by International Monetary Fund pressure, to overhaul how Egypt manages state assets following bouts of acute economic pressure.

Land rights, sovereign funds

The draft law authorises the president, after cabinet consultation, to transfer privately-owned state money and assets, shares in state companies and rights to manage public and private state property to the authority, without stipulating the need for parliamentary approval.

Central to the bill is the creation of “sustainable development zones” established by presidential decree, within which ownership of state land and facilities passes automatically to the authority, along with licensing and regulatory power.

The authority could design its own systems for governance, investment, registration and fee-setting inside these zones, which would receive free-zone-style tax and customs treatment.

In addition, the bill creates a sovereign wealth fund dubbed the Future of Egypt Sovereign Fund, or “Nile Pyramids,” which will be tasked with investing state-designated assets domestically and abroad, partnering with foreign sovereign funds, and preserving wealth for future generations.

A parallel service fund, “Daem” (Support), would channel investment profits into education, health, housing and infrastructure projects framed around social justice and equal opportunity.

Both funds’ executive directors would hold ranks equal to deputy ministers, and the authority’s president a rank equal to minister, placing the body at the top tier of Egypt’s executive hierarchy alongside the cabinet.

The draft law would also allow the authority to acquire other sovereign, economic, or investment national funds wholly owned by the state.

Future of Egypt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tax and legal exemptions

Since 2024, Future of Egypt has been entrusted with running one of the world’s largest wheat import operations. It has also assumed control over major Egyptian lakes and fisheries, acquired the largest stake in the Egyptian Commodities Exchange, and expanded into luxury housing and construction, renewable energy and infant formula.

By May last year, Future of Egypt had been mandated to reclaim about 4.5 million feddans, equal to nearly half of Egypt’s current cultivated land, including areas in the western desert and in Sinai, and land near Sudan and Libya.

Under the draft law, the authority and its funds would not be subject to laws governing public bodies, civil service, government procurement or maximum public-sector wages, and certain transactions would be exempt from value-added tax, stamp duty and registration fees.

The bill further restricts legal challenges to the authority’s contracts and asset disposals to the parties directly involved, barring third-party lawsuits except where a final criminal conviction establishes an offence involving public funds.

—

EnterpriseAM | 8 July 2026

The draft law would turn the agency into a special-nature national economic vehicle with its own investment and social-support funds

The Mostakbal Misr land reclamation and sustainable development initiative is being transferred from the Defence Ministry to direct presidential authority under a draft law heading to the House of Representatives today. The reorganization, according to the draft law seen by EnterpriseAM, would restructure the agency as a “special nature” body reporting directly to the president and equip it with expanded financial autonomy, exemptions from standard state administrative frameworks, and two new multi-purpose funds. The head of the agency will hold a rank equivalent to minister.

The agency will operate outside standard state administrative frameworks. It will be exempt from government wage caps, the Civil Service Act, and public procurement rules. The Treasury will also cover all of the taxes, including VAT and stamp tax, on its behalf. While the agency is exempt from transferring earnings to the state Treasury, the president can still order yearly transfers. The president has the power to direct 10-20% of net proceeds from the sustainable development zones and 7-10% of the sovereign fund’s annual allocated returns to the state Treasury. He can also authorize a one-off annual lump sum drawn from the service fund’s net surplus balance — with that lump sum itself allowed to grow by up to 10% year over year.

A shield: Courts will be barred from hearing any lawsuits that try to block its contracts or asset sales, provided they are made for “national purposes.”

Its mandate is broader than food security. Under Article 81 of the draft law, the agency operates across economic sectors including agriculture, animal wealth, poultry, fisheries, extractive industries, manufacturing, logistics, tourism, construction, water, and energy. Its core objectives include contributing to national food, water, and energy security, and growing the state’s overall economic power. To pursue this mandate, the authority can manage a global portfolio, invest in programs, and acquire companies both at home and abroad.

Mostakbal Misr will fold in all its current lands as specialized development zones. The Authority will continue to manage its existing assets, vehicles, and contracts until they are completed. Within the zones, it can raise fees annually by up to 5%, indexed to inflation — or cut them by the rate of real GDP growth or 2%, whichever is greater. Separately, it caps at EGP 500k what it can charge accreditation offices — third-party firms it licenses to inspect and certify projects within the zones — for their own licensing and renewal fees.

The draft law creates two specialized funds to manage the agency’s wealth. The first, Ahramat El Nile, is a special-nature sovereign fund designed to grow investments for future generations. Its manager will hold the rank of deputy minister. The fund can launch its own sub-funds and companies, partner with local and foreign funds, and — significantly — acquire other state-owned sovereign, economic, or investment funds. The second, Da’em, is a special-nature service fund designed to help state agencies fund social service and development projects across education, research, health, culture, infrastructure, and housing.

Why it matters: This law provides the regulatory architecture for Mostakbal Misr’s evolution from a land-reclamation project into a wider state economic platform. The transfer out of Ministry of Defence oversight and into direct presidential authority formalizes the operational expansion Mostakbal Misr has already undergone. The agency has become a powerhouse in strategic crop reserves and storage. It has also taken over the buying role from the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), placing it at the center of Egypt’s wheat-import machinery. The reorganization consolidates that expansion into a formal institutional structure with expanded financial powers and the ability to acquire other state-owned funds.

What’s next: A joint House committee representing nearly every major legislative sector — from defense to health — will now debate the draft. Once the law takes effect, the agency has one year to legalize its status. The president has the authority to extend this grace period for a total of up to three years.