Egypt’s parliament is reviewing a draft law that would expand the economic powers of a military-linked development body, placing it under direct presidential oversight and shielding its operations from standard institutional accountability, Reuters reports.

The legislation would elevate the “Future of Egypt Authority” from its current focus on agricultural and industrial projects into an overarching economic powerhouse. According to a copy of the bill stamped by the cabinet, the authority would be empowered to absorb state-owned land and companies, operate tax-exempt “sustainable development zones,” and manage two brand-new investment funds: a sovereign wealth vehicle named “Nile Pyramids” and a social-spending fund named “Daem.”

The draft law also allows the authority to take over other state-owned national, economic, or investment funds. Critically, the bill shields the entity’s contracts from most legal challenges and exempts it from standard civil service, public procurement, and public-company laws.

Independent analysts note that the move signals a major consolidation of economic power directly under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, effectively turning the country’s fastest-growing enterprise into a body answerable only to the Presidency. The development comes at a sensitive time for Cairo, as the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly pressed Egypt to reduce the state’s dominant footprint in the economy and expand space for private-sector participation as part of its multibillion-Dollar bailout agreement.

–Reuters/ChannelAfrica–