Cairo: Investors Committee at the Federation of Industries launched sharp attacks on the General Authority for Industrial Development for allocating large plots of industrial land to international developers at the expense of local manufacturers, who need extra land to sustain their expansions. Sayed Al-Barhamtoushi, a director of the Investors Committee, said the current policies of GAID have increased land prices in the industrial cities. "Land prices in the 10th of Ramadan City surged to new records over the past six months after rising by nearly 30 percent, he added. Average prices for industrial land in the 10th of Ramadan City amount to LE 20 per square meter, making the city among the most expensive in terms of land prices after the 6th of October City in Cairo and Borg El-Arab in Alexandria. GAID is preparing plans to build six new industrial zones as part of President Mubarak's election promises to set 1,000 new factories in the industrial zones. For his turn, the chairman of GAID Amr Assal said the allocation of industrial land to international developers aims at improving services to manufacturers in the Egyptian cities. "Large international developers have promised to provide technical and marketing services to manufacturers licensed to operate within their areas, he explained.
