IDA grants licenses to 923 industrial entities in 5 months

CAIRO – 27 August 2017: The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has granted licenses to 923 industrial entities since the approval of the new Industrial Permits Act in March and until the issuance of its executive regulations on August 13, Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said Sunday.

He said that before the law, these five months would not have been enough to issue an industrial license as it normally took factories around 634 days to obtain a license.

The new act has facilitated the procedures of starting an industrial business and it reduced the time needed to acquire an industrial license to 30 days, from more than 600 days.

Under the new law, licenses will be acquired upon notifications through the IDA, except for the industries that are categorized as being risky or harmful to the environment.

These would get the license through prior notification.

The new act will in turn help solve one of the biggest prob
lems facing investors in Egypt.

In March, the cabinet approved the 15/2017 Industrial Permits Act that aims at easing measures for obtaining licenses for industrial establishments, while President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ratified it in May.