Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil announced that the ministry is willing to develop 15m square meters as industrial zones during 2017 in 13 governorates—including 8 governorates in Upper Egypt—explaining that the establishment of these zones is part of the ministry's plan to improve and develop the country's investments. He added that part of the industrial lands would be established by industrial developers. Kabil said in a press statement issued on Sunday that the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is planning to set a new system for industrial lands that are being established by industrial developers, which protects the rights of both developers and investors regarding the pricing or the method of allocation. The minister stated that the IDA would be authorised to allocate lands to investors. He also said during a meeting with the IDA's representatives that the authority received requests about 15 projects worth EGP 16bn, with 80% of them being foreign direct investments in the fields of manufacturing, textiles, and metallurgical industries. The regulations of the Industry Licensing Law are currently being set in order to be discussed by parliament in March, adding that some industries might need licenses and others might be required to only send notifications, the statement read. However, the chairperson of the IDA, Ahmed Abd El-Razek, said in the statement that the authority has established a database that contains all information of all investors and their respective factories in Egypt in order to improve the IDA's work efficiency and make the licensing process easier. He added that the IDA is currently working on promoting the targeted investment opportunities and also working on updating the IDA's guide for investors, as well as updating the guide for investors' services.
