Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has announced that the government is currently preparing for establishing an industrial city project on an area of 5 million sqm in New 6th of October City. The project includes industrial, logistical, commercial, administrative, and service activities. It will be located near the 6th of October dry port, and will be directly linked to Alexandria Port via railways. Madbouly said the government received a request from Elsewedy Electric to establish a new industrial zone in New 6th of October City, which is planned to be developed through an industrial developer system. Madbouly pointed out that the government welcomes and supports industrial sector, commenting, "All that matters to us in this context is to accelerate the process of developing proposed industrial zone, with regard to the speed of connecting utilities, building and operating factories, especially since we have previous experience with some industrial developers used to take many years to develop industrial lands, this would hinder development in the region in general." He noted that the government would not earn a single pound from the price of these industrial lands, but what the government cares about is development and the speed of operating factories. With regard to the process of allocating the lands required for the establishment of the industrial city, the Minister of Housing stated that the required lands will be allocated in two phases, and in the event that seriousness is proven in the first phase, necessary lands for the development of the second phase will be obtained. The Minister of Industry explained that coordination was made with the Minister of Housing in this regard, and it was agreed on governance mechanisms for industrial zones that industrial developers will acquire and manage, so as not to add increasing burdens on manufacturers. Former Head of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Magdy Ghazi said that achieving an industrial boom is not impossible in light of strong direction of the state to support industry, but it requires coordination between all parties working in the industry sector, unifying agencies that allocate industrial lands, and activating map of industrial lands. Ghazi added that achieving development in this sector requires coordination of work between parties working on industry, ease of reserving attached industrial lands, industrial investors not dealing with more than one party, simplifying procedures for new investors in the sector, and adopting a fixed financial, tax and customs policy. He called for the importance of collecting industrial and investment opportunities in Egypt and working on marketing and spreading them across the industrial map, and most importantly working on promoting them outside the country to industrial investors. Ghazi highlighted the importance of working to develop productive sectors in which Egypt has a strong comparative advantage, such as engineering industries and some industries that can be a locomotive for export and limit imports through the import substitution program, pointing out that developing specific sectors and working to strengthen them leads the country to achieve unprecedented industrial booms. Additionally, obtaining financing for industrial projects with distinct interest without complicating procedures, as well as providing tax and customs incentives for importing raw materials and production lines, can contribute to achieving industrial renaissance, Ghazi concluded.
