IDA Chairperson: 2085 new factories established

CAIRO – 29 November 2017: Egypt has opened 2085 new factories since 2016 with total investments value at LE 58 billion ($3.3 billion), Head of Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ahmed Abd el-razek said in a statement on Wednesday.

IDA is a general economic authority affiliated with the Trade and Industry Ministry. It is responsible for executing the industrial policies to stimulate and encourage investments in the industrial sector.

The registered number of factories built from 2007 until 2015 is just 827, Abd el-razek added.The new manufacturing plants are spread over 25 governorates and have created nearly 68,000 jobs.More than 600 factories have been built in Cairo and Giza during 2016 and 2017, and 313 in the Sharqia Governorate.

Abd el-Razek attributed the rise in new factories to the law of facilitating the procedures of licensing industrial establishments No. 15/2017 and its executive regulation, adding that the law caused a revolution in industrial investment rates in Egypt during the past period.

Through the new law, the waiting period for 80 percent of industries will be reduced to one week or less, while the remaining 20 percent will require about one month due to their higher risks to health, environment, safety, or security, or a combination of these factors.

The new regulations will reduce the waiting period for obtaining industrial licenses to establish new facilities from 600 days to between seven and 30 days.Investors in Egypt have long complained of lengthy waiting times for obtaining approvals, with the World Bank ranking Egypt number 122 of 190 countries on its 2017 Doing Business Index, partly because of difficulties obtaining permits and licenses.

The Egyptian government is applying a comprehensive economic reform program that aims to improve the tough economic situation that has been continuing since 2011. The country is targeting $10 billion in foreign direct investments.

International institutions have repeatedly stated that Egypt’s economy is improving, the International Monetary Fund said the state’s growth for the 2016/17 fiscal period was up 4.2 percent compared to a forecast 3.5 percent, the current account deficit in dollar terms had narrowed and portfolio investments and foreign direct investment had increased.