Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has invited Egyptian and foreign investors to invest in a list of about 150 projects identified and prioritized by the state.
He said the projects are “of critical importance” to the country as they would help promote local production, reduce the government’s import bill and generate savings of around $25 billion.
El-Sisi spoke during the Story of Homeland Conference, which kicked off Saturday at the New Administrative Capital.
Among those projects is establishing a tire factory that, according to the president, could save the country approximately $250 million annually, given that it currently spends around $700-$800 million on imported car tires.
The government will grant incentives like tax exemptions for several years for any company seeking to invest in these projects, Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmed Samir said in a comment during the event.
President El-Sisi also highlighted that the government opted for establishing industrial complexes rather than allocating lands for investors rather than letting them struggle with the permit procedures.
“We decided not to let investors struggle with permits. Instead, we thought of creating projects and complexes” with already licensed projects,” added the president.
The government changed its approach after it found that investment projects were implemented over only 10 percent of nearly 30 million square metres of land allocated by the government for business people.
According to Samir, about 17 industrial complexes have been recently established in 15 governorates, costing EGP 10 billion.
El-Sisi spotlighted the state plans in the past years to narrow the gap between revenues and expenses by supporting the industry.
The country, however, could have initiated such plans without upgrading infrastructure to attract investment, he explained. Egypt lacked in 2014 and 2015 the “proper” infrastructure, he affirmed.
The Egyptian government will launch the National Strategy for Industry in October, stated Minister Samir.
The trade minister noted that the real growth rate of the manufacturing sector has surged from 4.7 percent in 2014 to reach 9.75 percent in 2022.
He added that the country’s exports increased from $22 billion in 2014 to $35.8 billion in 2022, representing a growth rate of 61.3 percent.
He also mentioned that industrial exports rose from $12.1 billion in 2014 to $22.2 billion in 2022, marking an increase of 83.5 precent.
The Story of the Homeland conference is taking place in the New Administrative Capital between 30 September and 2 October under the patronage of El-Sisi.
The first day of the event witnessed sessions focusing on the economy, with the participation of government members.
These sessions discussed the government’s policies and programs to support the Egyptian economy as well as the achievements reached since 2014.
