CAIRO: A study published by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed that the total value of exports from the country's free zones rose from $3.5 billion in 2003/2004 to $6.7 billion in 2008/2009, a 92.9 percent increase. The report said the total value of imports from free zones also increased from $3.1 billion to $6.6 billion, or a 113 percent rise. The total revenue collected from free zone projects rose from $76 million in 2006/2007 to $96 million in 2008/2009, CAPMAS reported. The study showed a number of indicators of the role of free zones in economic development in Egypt, “where it is one of the means of attracting Arab and foreign investments to set up projects in Egypt, as well as their effectiveness in influencing the rates of economic and social achievements through the benefits of these projects directly and indirectly to the national economy.” Egypt has 9 free zones with a total area of 10.7 million square meters, in which its activities include industrial projects and storage services and port management services. The total number of free zone projects has increased from 1,077 projects in 2006/2007 to 1,160 projects in 2008/2009, CAPMAS revealed in its report, including 608 industrial projects, 392 service projects and 160 storing projects. The study noted the decline in the total value of the investment costs of projects in the Free Zones from $23.7 billion in 2006/2007 to $14.1 billion in 2008/2009, a decline of 40.8 percent. The total number of employees in Egypt's free zones dropped from 220,817 workers in 2006/2007 to 216,789 workers in 2008/2009, a decline of only 1.8 percent. The study pointed to the decline in the total capital funds for projects in the free zones from $10.1 billion in 2006/2007 to $7.4 billion in 2008/2009 as a reason for the decline. The total volume of Arab investment also declined from $7.9 billion in 2006/2007 to $6.2 billion in 2008/2009, or a drop of 21.3 percent, “while the total volume of foreign capital decreased from $2.2 billion in 2006/2007 to $1.2 billion in 2008/2009. “The total flow of capital invested in the free zones from direct foreign investment (FDI) dropped from $3.2 billion in 2006/2007 to $1.9 billion in 2008/2009,” the report stated. BM
