New investments in industrial projects decline by 68.5% since November

EGP 4bn to be invested in industrial project, says industry and foreign trade minister

Industrial projects have seen a decline of 68.5% in investments in industrial projects since November, according to the latest numbers released by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA).
The IDA issued its approval in February for establishing 268 new industrial facilities inside and outside industrial zones at an investment cost of more than EGP 4bn, according to Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil.
This is compared to 145 approvals in the same month last year, marking a 85% increase, said Qabil. He added that these industrial facilities provided more than 14,000 new jobs.
This is however considered a decrease for IDA compared to November 2015, during which 181 approvals were obtained for the establishment of new industrial investment projects at a cost of up to EGP 12.7bn.
Qabil said the approval includes seven different industrial sectors. The food sector ranked first with 106 approvals, followed by the chemical sector with 58 approvals, and the engineering sector with 56 approvals. Textile production ranked fourth with 33 approvals, eight approvals were delegated to the mining sector, six for power projects and one approval for the minerals sector.
These approvals would be implemented across 22 governorates. Sharqeya ranked first with 56 approvals, followed by Aswan with 36 approvals, then Menufiya and Giza with 29 approvals each.
Minya and Sohag ranked fourth with 12 each, and Qaliubiya, Alexandria and Gharbeya followed with nine approvals each. Beheira received eight approvals, Daqahleya and Fayoum had six approvals each, and were followed by Damietta and Assiut with five approvals each.
In addition, four approvals were delegated to Qena and Beni Suef, three approvals for Kafr El-Sheikh and two for Port Said and one approval each for Suez and Matruh.
Sixty-nine of the approvals will expand the size of some projects at an investment cost of EGP 4.8bn inside and outside the industrial zones, said Qabil, who added that this is compared to the 69 approvals last February at an investment cost of EGP 1.1bn.
The value of the investments is also considered to have declined compared to November 2015, as 80 approvals were obtained to expand projects with investments worth EGP 5.8bn.
Qabil said 89 projects obtained immediate, preliminary and conditional approval compared to 121 approved during the same month last year.
He added that these approvals are spread across six industrial sectors. The chemical sector ranked first with 35 approvals, followed by the engineering sector with 25 approvals, the food sector with 13 approvals, and the textile sector with 11 approvals. Three approvals were given to the mining sector and one each for the minerals sector and other industries.
The IDA's Egyptian Industrial Product Preference, which acts as an indicator of industrial development and is headed by Ismail Gaber, said customs facilities provided for 38 companies in February, which have received 235 customs reductions compared to 44 companies that obtained 283 customs reductions during the same month in 2015.