Responsible Entities

Issues regarding the regulations of the Industrial Development Authority:

  • The procedures by which the ownership is transferred to the manufacturer after the full payment agreed upon. The factories still suffer from the fact that they cannot have an ownership document from the IDA.
  • There is no clarification in the clauses that highlights how a board of directors is to be selected.
  • Clause no.31 specified paying a 25% installment in case of land allocation and a period of four years for payment.
  • Clause No.38 specified the basis of comparison through using a points system in case the industrial investors requests are overloading. This is managed through the necessary estates to establish an industrial activity and in case the comparison of points between the applicants is insufficient then they may be selected based on the highest price offered by any of them.
  • Clause no.44 has specified the rules for the purpose for which the property was disposed of. It stipulated that it is not permissible to change the activity except after the approval of the IDA and all concerned authorities. It also requested that the investor shall pay at least 50% of the difference between the value of the obtained property and the market value on the date of submitting the application.
  • Clause No.34 has allowed the land-owning authorities to participate in the industrial projects in real states as an in-kind share within the capital of the project’s company in accordance with the conditions and regulations specified by the same article.

Responsible Entities

Date 9/15/2021

  • To date, the decree establishing a new board of directors for IDA, pursuant to Law No. 95 of 2018, “The Industrial Development Authority Law”, has not yet been issued. More so, the executive regulations of the new law are yet to be issued.

The limited capacity of IDA is reflected in a number of areas, including:

  • Inadequate staffing levels in IDA governorate-level offices render these offices ineffective.
  • Staff in the governorate-level offices do not have real authority to make decisions without consulting with headquarters in Cairo.
  • Some staff members are not well qualified; the majority do not have adequate understanding and knowledge of the procedures, and many lack the skills and abilities to engage effectively with the public.
  • IDA issued 16,000 licenses, however, it does not have the manpower to monitor and review these licenses. 
  • Poor communication and interaction between IDA and investors; the majority of investors are not aware of No. 15 of 2017.
  • IDA’s website requires further improvements and upgrading to serve as the prime platform for interaction with investors.

  • Law No. 15 of 2017 is not fully implemented; contrary to Law No. 15 of 2017 that gave IDA a clear and comprehensive mandate over industrial activities, overlapping jurisdiction between IDA and other government entities persist.
  •  The multiplicity of oversight and inspection agencies, and the prevailing practice of imposing fines and shutting down enterprises by these agencies, including the Ministry Finance, the Ministry of Environment, the National Authority for Social Insurance, the Civil Defense Department, and local administration units.

  • Industrial licensing procedures are rendered complex and difficult to identify and decipher by the endless paperwork and cumbersome bureaucracy.

  • The license processing time continues to be long; banks refuse to finance industrial activities before the issuance of the operating license and the start of operations. 
  • The limited availability or lack of accreditation offices that are designed to speed up the licensing process.

  • The service fees imposed by IDA are excessive and eat up the capital of the investors.