CAIRO: With a strategic location in the Mediterranean, Alexandria is seen as a city “hooked” up to everything.
“You are next to ports in the Mediterranean, two airports, it also has access to highways that lead to Port Said, Cairo, Upper Egypt, and river transports which have also cut down local transport costs and reduced traffic congestion all over the country” said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers.
Industrial projects and small businesses have been on the rise in the city over the years, according to a recent study conducted by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)
The study showed that the number of industrial investment projects reached 2,704 in 2009 showing a 17.8 percent increase ratio compared to 2004 and an 11.2 percent increase in employees.
"Alexandria is no longer the 2 million inhabitants it used to be," he added
The study also shows the governorate’s population is expected to reach about 6.152 million in 2026 as it is a considered a more “attractive” spot to immigrate to than other governorates in the Egypt.
“At a point in the 1950’s, Alexandria was around 60 percent of Egypt’s industry,” said Ezz. “Before the January 25 Revolution, there was a huge boom, Alexandria was starting to come back to where it was before.”
Ezz attributes the recent “tremendous boom” partially to the upgrading of Alexandria’s ports.
“Alexandria has the means for exports and transportation, one of the key things is transports of course is logistics,” he said. “International markets want what we call just-in-time and Alexandria ports have this huge advantage, especially when you have factories with free zones where buyers can have their products sealed and exported right away.”
Moreover, with the lowest illiteracy rates in the country, Alexandria has qualified and skilled laborers who are very well educated.
Once the industrial hub of the Egypt, the coastal city was famous for its food processing factories and cotton industries, which were primarily geared towards exports.
According to Ezz, however, with the open door policy enacted in the late 1970s during former president Anwar Sadat’s era, this all changed and plants started moving to Cairo’s Helwan, Sadat City, Shubra, and 10th of Ramadan districts.
The majority of the increase in the city could be seen in the manufacturing industries such as chemical products, food commodities, and the textile industry.
Moreover, livestock in the governorate increased from 287,000 in 2004 to 454,200 in 2009, with a ratio of 58 percent.
But, as a result of the economic slam that the country took after the January 25 revolution, several projects in the city, which were once booming, had to be halted.
“Our partners in Macro just shipped LE 500 million to Turkey as a result of the economic slowdown,” said Ezz. “Each outlet employs 500 people the day it opens, so you can imagine the affect it had on business and job creation.”
Although the coastal city is relatively small, representing only .2 percent of the country, it has been seeing a continuous increase in its inhabitants.
The city’s population rose from 2.927 million inhabitants in 1986 to 4.124 million in 2006, with immigrants reaching 277,900 inhabitants.
The number of small industrial establishments with less than 10 employees grew to 20,602 in 2006 while establishments in urban areas grew by 99.8 percent, reaching 20,567.
Currently, Alexandria is already the hub for several pharmaceutical and chemical companies as well as factories including the Alexandria Company for Chemical Industries, Memphis for Pharmaceuticals and Chemical Industries, and the Alexandria International for Chemical Industries Factory.
All companies are publicly traded in the Egyptian Stock Exchange, serving domestic and global needs.
