Egyptian minister of trade Tarek Qabil said that the ministry is to start relocation of leather tanneries from Magra El Oyon region to Al-Robeky industrial zone next July. Speaking to Amwal Al Ghad Sunday, Chairman of Egyptian Leather Export Council Ahmed Short stated that 50 tanneries are set to be relocated among project's first phase. Al-Robeky leather zone is set to be established 54 km east of Cairo. He added that the total volume of the cash liquidity that the government dedicated for completing the first phase is estimated at around 350 million Egyptian pounds (US$44.7 million) since December 2015. In June 2014, Egypt's outgoing President Adly Mansour allocated 398.6 acres of state land for Al-Robeky industrial zone for leather tanneries. According to the statements of trade ministry, Al-Robeky leather zone will participate in boosting industrial investments to 5.766 billion pounds in addition to increasing industrial growth rate in leather sector to 10 percent annually. Al-Robeky leather zone is set to create around 25,000 new direct job opportunities by completing all phases. In addition, the project is expected to boost Egyptian industrial exports from US$100 million to US$350 million per year, council's head clarified. Short added that leather sector is waiting for the government to start executing its latest decisions that organise importing movement and impose additional customs fees on leather imports to obtain the real development locally and globally. The council targets boosting leather exports by around 200 million Egyptian pounds to reach 1.5 billion pounds (US$191.5 million) during 2016. Short raised the decisions made by the government and the Egyptian Central Bank (CBE) notably those that organise the importing sector, noting that they led leather industries and products to revive. In addition, many workshops and small-sized factories that have been closed within the last five years have been reopened due to those results, the chairman clarified. Accordingly, the capacity of leather sector has been raised by 25 percent.
