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Issue-specific Reforms > Provision of Industrial Land

  • The lack of objectivity and transparency in the allocation and pricing of land, as well as the absence of comprehensive information on the availability of land, prices, and acquisition procedures.
  • Land policies are developed in the absence of an updated integrated land information system.
  • Lack of standardized procedures for land allocation across the various government entities, and lengthy and cumbersome allocation procedures.  

Issue-specific Reforms > Provision of Industrial Land

  • IDA lacks the financial resources needed for equipping industrial land with utilities. Together with the high cost of bringing utilities to undeveloped plots, small investors face a shortage of appropriate industrial land. IDA’s lack of financial resources is likely to hinder its ability to deliver on its plan of making available 60 million square meters of land by 2020.
  • Lack of industrial land plots (500 square meters) available to small enterprises in industrial zones, in line with the Industrial Licensing Law.
  • Excessive increases in land prices and the lack of pricing standards.

Issue-specific Reforms > Provision of Industrial Land

  • Land registration requires conducting cadastral surveys. However, the current capacity of the Egyptian Survey Authority does not allow it to respond to survey requests nation-wide in a timely manner, thus, expedited requests for registration are put on hold. 

Issue-specific Reforms > Provision of Industrial Land

Failure to fully enforce some of the provisions of Law No. 15 of 2017

  • The New Urban Communities Authority, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, continues to require investors to provide a bank guarantee to acquire land in industrial zones; this is an exaggerated requirement as it was revoked under Law No. 15 of 2017.

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Establish a Cabinet-level committee to coordinate all economic decisions before issuing them. The committee should include representatives of FEI and the FECOC.
  • Revive the “E’rada” Initiative, which is designed to vet all economic laws; and ensure that all its members have adequate seniority to be able to operate under the auspices of the Prime Minister.

Responsible Entities

Date 3/21/2019

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Grant IDA full independence; it should be led by an independent chairperson and allowed to regulate itself. This practice should be adopted across the board to ensure the independence of other similar entities in Egypt. 

Responsible Entities

Date 6/30/2020

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Make e-government a priority in order to increase the efficiency of government transactions and curb administrative corruption. Set a deadline of 2022 to complete the effort.

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Issue a binding decree or a law to address senior debt restructuring. Currently, banks face significant challenges when working with distressed businesses that are going through a restructuring process. Any liquidity provided by banks is directed towards meeting the distressed business’s debt obligations to sovereign creditors (e.g., taxes, customs duties, etc.) and thus the restructuring process is derailed and the banks are exposed to high-risk losses. Accordingly, the regulatory framework, whether a law or a decree, should obligate sovereign creditors to closely coordinate with banks when rescheduling senior debts of distressed companies. Adopting this recommendation will ensure the availability of adequate liquidity during the restructuring exercise, and at the same time, protect banks against the risk of loss.

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Expedite the issuance of the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) law, which was reviewed by FEI, to encourage formalization of informal enterprises.

Responsible Entities

Date 3/21/2019

Issue-specific Reforms > General Reforms

  • Support and strengthen the Industrial Development Bank to enable it to fulfill its role of funding industrial projects and expanding industrial activities in Egypt, including developing programs and procedures to incentivize expanding support for promising industrial endeavors.

Responsible Entities

Date 3/21/2019