Industrial developers demand removal of obstacles that hinder sector’s growth in Egypt

Egyptian developers discussed the opportunities for growth in the industrial development sector in the Egyptian market. They also discussed the procedures required to support industrial developer companies, the best system for allocating lands through the industrial developer mechanism, and the services provided by industrial developer companies to investors. This was during the third session titled “The Industrial Developer, A New Development Activity,” of the 7th Think Commercial roundtable held on Wednesday.

Sherif El-Gabaly, Chairperson of the Chemical Industries Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries and head of the African affairs committee at the Egyptian Parliament, said that industrial lands are an essential element for industrial development. El-Gabaly added that there are many obstacles to the growth of industrial development activity in the Egyptian market. He recommended holding discussions between the Industrial Development Authority and industrial developers to reach solutions that would contribute to the development process. He also suggested holding an industrial conference to discuss the challenges facing this issue.

Ahmed Radwan, the advisor to the head of the Industrial Development Authority, said that the state allocated an area of 22.9 million sqm for industrial lands. Radwan added, “Since 2007, attention has been paid to industrial developers who worked to receive, implement, and develop the land. The idea of the industrial developer is based on a partnership between the state, developer, and investor. Its purpose is to establish an industry on lands that are not connected with utilities and services.” He explained that developer targets investor, whether local or foreign and that developer contracts with investor. He said that some conditions and controls are applied to investors to make projects successful.