Egypt invests $12B in implementing ‘Knowledge City’ in March

Dubai – 11 February 2018: Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser al-Qadi announced that the implementation of the Knowledge City in the New Administrative Capital will begin in March once the land allocated for the project is received.

“According to the instructions of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the first stage of Knowledge City will be completed in three years instead of seven years, with initial investments estimated at LE 12 billion to prepare some areas of manufacturing, data design, software and applications,” Qadi added in a press statement on the sidelines of the World Summit of Governments.

Qadi explained that the knowledge City is targeted to become an icon for the industry of communication and technology in Egypt and the surrounded region like the Silicon Valley in the United States.

The minister of communication affirmed that Egypt has a big and promising market with the potential to export communication and information technology’s services and electronics, referring that the investment law and the procedures taken encouraged many investors in South East Asia and other countries to invest in many areas inside Egypt.

In 2017, Egypt’s Parliament passed a long-delayed investment law to streamline business in Egypt and create incentives, which Egypt hopes will bring back investors’ dollars after years of turmoil.

The new investment law includes a 50 percent tax discount on investments made in underdeveloped areas and government support for connecting utilities to new projects.

This law stipulates returning to investors half of what they pay to acquire land for industrial projects if production begins within two years. It also turned free zones back to the private sector.