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Egypt’s Ministry of Industry has drafted a new resolution to restructure the licensing process for industrial activities outside of industrial zones in Egypt, per a Monday statement.

The new measures will allow the establishment, management, and operation of 65 industrial activities or facilities located in urban areas, residential blocks, or outside them.

These measures will come into effect the day after their publication in Egypt’s Official Gazette. The publication date has not yet been disclosed.

The aim is to facilitate administrative procedures for industrial investors, increasing the number of allowed activities outside industrial zones from 17, due to the low environmental damage they cause, according to Industry Minister Khaled Hashem.

Furthermore, the resolution operates on the condition that the activity meets the necessary guidelines required by the Industrial Development Authority, Egypt’s primary governmental body responsible for implementing industrial policies, fostering investment, managing industrial zones, issuing licenses for industrial projects, and reviewing activities.

The soon-to-be-implemented decision allows certain activities to be operated, managed, and established only in urban areas. These include the production and processing of foods such as all kinds of cheese, whey, sweetened dairy products, preserved fruit by sugaring, dry sweets, and traditional bread, among many others.

Other types of production that are not allowed within industrial zones include the manufacturing of leather goods, knitted fabrics, non-sterile medical supplies, footwear, candles, essential oils, mirrors of all kinds, and surface printing on textiles, glass, or ceramics, among others.

Any activities required outside urban areas due to their nature and operational requirements are exempt, provided the authority approves.

Licenses issued to industrial facilities before the implementation of the new decision will remain valid, and the decision cancels any decree that contradicts it.

These facilities can now expand their existing activities beyond industrial zones or add new ones.

Moreover, Egypt has been eyeing further expansion in its industrial sector, as part of its National Industrial Strategy, which is currently under review. The strategy aims to boost competitiveness, expand production, and tackle structural problems in the manufacturing sector to support sustainable economic growth by adopting practical measures to support production and investment.

The strategy targets increasing the industrial sector's contribution to GDP from 14 percent to 20 percent by 2030, as it is one of five priority sectors in Egypt’s Economic Development Narrative.

It also aims to create seven to eight million job opportunities, enhance the green economy's contribution to five percent of GDP, and provide technical support to small factories to integrate them into the formal economy.

The ministry is also collaborating with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank (WB) to advance private sector-led growth, implement financial inclusion programs to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and provide technical assistance to factories to reduce carbon emissions.

Source: Al-Ahram Online