Ismail Gaber, head of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), said that the total number of industrial zones in Egypt has reached 129, of which 77 zones are affiliated with their respective governorates and 15 zones belong to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Twenty of the aforementioned zones belong to the New Urban Communities Authority, 10 are affiliated to the General Authority for Investment (GAFI), and four zones belong to the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Two of the zones are associated with the Holding Company For Construction & Development (HCCD) and only one zone belongs to the IDA.
Gaber said that through the Industrial Zones Support and Infrastructure Fund, the IDA has managed to provide EGP 4.4bn to complete work on 37 industrial zones in 20 governorates in the past 10 years.
Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said that the ministry is finalising preparations for the integrated industrial investment map, which includes all of the industrial zones across Egypt’s various governorates.
The map will include all data related to each zone separately and the most important opportunities in each, according to Kabil, which will be based mainly on the competitive advantages of each governorate.
Kabil noted that the ministry is also studying the application of new ideas for managing the industrial zones through the establishment of a company for managing each zone. These companies would be fully responsible for all administrative and technical issues related to the zone in coordination with all state’s stakeholders.
“The ministry is seeking, in cooperation with the concerned ministries, to resolve the problems and obstacles facing industrial development in these zones, including the issuance of licences and approvals,” the minister said.
Regarding industrial sanitation, the minister demanded that the members of the New Industrial Zones Committee prepare a study on the participation of the private sector in managing and operating industrial sanitation plants through the public-private partnerships (PPP) system.
