Egypt's Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir highlighted over EGP2 trillion in transport sector investments since 2014 during the sixth Egyptian Diaspora Conference, according to a Cabinet statement on Monday. El-Wazir said the state had taken serious steps to ease procedures for investors and support struggling factories, including financing initiatives launched by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and direct assistance from the relevant bodies at the Ministry of Industry. Responding to questions during the Egyptians Abroad Conference on struggling factories and industrial complexes, El Wazir noted that every governorate in Egypt now hosts at least two industrial zones equipped with ready-to-operate complexes. He described this as a real opportunity for serious investors to launch projects without obstacles in a supportive and encouraging environment. El-Wazir stressed that the conference came at a critical moment as the Egyptian economy undergoes a comprehensive restructuring with an ambitious vision and firm resolve. He said industrial development had become a core pillar of this strategy, given its importance as a driver of growth, a source of job creation, a means to achieve self-sufficiency, and a contributor to increased exports and Egypt's position in global value chains. He explained that this vision had been translated into practical steps through the "urgent plan for industrial development" approved by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to accelerate implementation and achieve a qualitative transformation in Egypt's industrial investment climate and product competitiveness. The plan includes seven main axes, notably the unification of industrial licensing authorities, reduced approval times, accessible financing packages, competitive tax and customs incentives, stronger private sector partnerships, improved human capital, weekly on-the-ground problem-solving meetings for investors, and the launch of the Egypt Digital Industry Platform to streamline factory establishment and operations. El-Wazir added that the state gives special attention to specialised industrial cities such as the Robiky Leather City and the Al-Merghem Plastics Complex, alongside the establishment of 16 industrial complexes across 15 governorates. These efforts aim to deepen local manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, and create direct and indirect job opportunities. He also reviewed targeted industrial financing initiatives and the legislative and procedural packages introduced to boost investment in the sector. The minister said these efforts had yielded tangible results, with 5,773 new factories receiving operating licences and creating more than 230,000 jobs. Additionally, 987 previously stalled factories had resumed operations due to resolved technical or procedural issues, out of a total of 7,422 identified cases. The state also allocated 2,070 industrial land plots, issued 1,913 construction permits, registered 3,525 permanent industrial records and 4,623 temporary ones, and assessed the status of 6,127 factories across 25 governorates without closing any of them. He noted that this dynamic performance helped boost industrial exports by 9.9 per cent to around $17.635 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $16.053 billion in the same period last year. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: M. S. Salama
