Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, held today at the government headquarters in the new city of El Alamein, a meeting to follow up the current position of industrial complexes nationwide, in the presence of Eng. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Eng. Mohamed Abdel Karim, Chairman of the Industrial Development Authority.
The Prime Minister started the meeting by referring to the government’s continuation of work on the file of deepening the local industry and the localization of productive industries, within the framework of the Egyptian state’s plan to provide our requirements and needs. Explaining that today’s meeting comes within this framework.
During the meeting, the Minister of Trade and Industry reviewed the status quo with regard to industrial complexes, noting that over the past period, 17 industrial complexes were established, distributed over the regions: Cairo, Alexandria, the Delta, the Suez Canal, central, northern and southern Upper Egypt; To support the development goals of small and medium industries.
He explained that these complexes are spread across 15 governorates of the Republic, with a total number of units scheduled to reach 5046 industrial units, adding that the regions of Upper Egypt combined accounted for 51% of the total number of these industrial units.
He continued: The industrial sectors targeted by these complexes include: food industries, simple chemical industries, furniture and ready-made clothes, and others.
Meanwhile, the head of the Industrial Development Authority said that the industrial parks achieved a number of their development goals for their first and second phases, and were able to provide development alternatives for small and medium industries, and succeeded in enhancing the rates of transition from the informal economy to the formal sector.
He added: The third phase witnesses the provision of a development stock of ready-to-operate industrial units in a number of different regions of the Republic, with a focus on the different governorates of Upper Egypt.
He continued: The total number of complex units in the first and second phases reached 2,490 units, of which 2,333 units were allocated, and 360 of these units were able to obtain financing worth about 640 million pounds from the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority and various banks.
Abdul Karim pointed out to the high rates of unit allocation and operation at varying rates in the first and second phase complexes, during the period from the end of August 2022 until this August, with an average total growth in the case of unit allocation that reached 70%, and an average total growth in operation that reached 118%.
He explained that by adding what was allocated in the third phase, the growth rates in privatization reach 120%, and the operating growth rates reach 120% as well.
The head of the Public Authority for Industrial Development also reviewed the facilities supporting the promotion of industrial complexes, which were represented in allowing the investor to apply for unit allocation by personal card, in the event that a commercial registry is not available, and giving the investor a period of three months to obtain it after the allocation.
He explained that facilitations were granted in the preparation of the feasibility study by placing a form attached to the booklet of conditions prepared in advance instead of requiring the submission of a feasibility study approved by a consulting office, and the price of the booklet of conditions was reduced from 2280 pounds to 342 pounds or 570 pounds according to the unit area, as well as reducing the insurance amount per unit. From 50 thousand pounds to 10 thousand pounds.
He continued: The current pricing system for rent in industrial complexes has been reviewed and discounts of up to 30% have been made for the rental value, to range between 17.5 and 24 pounds/m2, according to the location of the complex, with an exemption from rent for a period of nine months.
The maximum deadlines granted to reconcile the conditions of these projects in the licensing system have been doubled by notification, and the grievance committees may exclude these projects from some non-essential requirements, when there are reasonable justifications for that.
The Chairman of the Industrial Development Authority stressed the continuation of work to improve the quality and quality of services and the provision of some innovative services, such as working to provide administrative offices, meeting rooms and warehouses, working to reduce the annual rental premium for some complexes, and providing mass transportation services to and from the complexes in cooperation with the governorate, while emphasizing the importance of Increasing the period of installment of escort costs over periods longer than a year.
In this context, he also referred to the implementation of the marketing and promotion plan for the complexes, especially in Upper Egypt, to attract new manufacturers, and the implementation of programs to develop skills and develop the manufacturers’ businesses, noting that combined marketing exhibitions were held for the complex factories, technical support for the marketing activities of these factories, and the allocation of group exhibition spaces with a wide range The industrial complex for the joint promotion of the products of the complexes.
He also touched on completing cooperation with the Ministry of Local Development and the governorates in which the complexes are located, and cooperation with the Upper Egypt Development Authority, as well as cooperation with business community organizations, businessmen associations, chambers of commerce and industrial associations in different regions, as well as completing cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority to facilitate obtaining financing. In addition to continuing cooperation with banks, and starting to discuss cooperation with a group of non-governmental financing companies.
Eng. Mohamed Abdel Karim also referred to the start of researching opportunities for cooperation with different companies that could work as an industrial developer in different regions, and discussing opportunities for cooperation with major manufacturers in Upper Egypt and reaching appropriate forms of cooperation to promote some complexes, and examining the possibility of obtaining additional tax exemptions for some complex factories, especially in Upper Egypt.