The value of industrial commodity production has registered EGP 148.4bn in FY 2013/2014, up from EGP 140.4bn in the previous fiscal year, marking a 5.7% increase, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed in a Monday statement. As for the value of food production, CAPMAS said that it reached EGP 13.5bn in FY 2013/2014, compared to EGP 9.2bn in FY 2012/2013, registering a 46.9% increase, as some factories have returned to full capacity. Egypt's industrial growth has increased from 1.8% last year to 17% this year, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour announced in June. Abdel Nour noted that EGP 76.5bn have been pumped into the industrial sector in the past 10 months, creating 136,000 job opportunities. Abdel Nour said the EGP 76.5bn will cover over 2,300 new projects. A total of EGP 27.9bn has been made in revenues, alongside other expansions, in 700 already-established projects with EGP 48.6bn in investments. The government has taken measures to facilitate the SFD's loaning system to SMEs and decrease the documents needed to launch a project, Abdel Nour added. The Social Fund for Development (SFD) plans to increase the volume of funding for projects in 2015 to EGP 4.62bn, to fund 23,000 small projects, while the number of micro-projects expected to be financed by the end of this year is 120,000 projects. During the same month, Abdel Nour adopted a new work plan for the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC), based on "various and developed" technical programmes and services. The plan is aimed at developing the industrial sector and SMEs and increasing their competitiveness. The plan includes a target of using new and renewable energy resources and clean energy principles in industry. This includes converting Borg Al-Arab, an industrial zone near Alexandria, into an environmentally friendly city through reducing industrial emissions. The IMC will provide over 5,600 services for more than 2,000 companies during the new fiscal year, according to Abdel Nour. He added the centre will also focus on expanding its services in Upper Egypt and providing industrial establishments there, with services and support.
