The competition for Egypt: China, the West, and megaprojects

Building boom under way as President el-Sisi seeks to modernise and transform the Middle East’s most populous country.

China is joining the race with international competitors to participate in a boom of megaprojects and infrastructure developments currently under way in Egypt as President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi seeks to modernise and transform the Middle East’s most populous country. “Egypt has always loved megaprojects,” Mohamed el-Dahshan, a fellow at Chatham House and founder of international development company OXCAN, told Al Jazeera. Speaking about the rush of projects, he added: “The government has sort of been building alliances through signing certain economic deals with various countries over the last few years.”