Reviewing the sector's achievements since 2014, the Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem described manufacturing as a cornerstone of Egypt's broader economic transformation and export ambitions.
Minister Hashem also declared that the Egyptian industrial sector has witnessed unprecedented structural development over the past 12 years under President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
Highlighting updated targets, the minister outlined a comprehensive blueprint designed to boost national industrial exports to $100 billion by 2030 through focusing on localized manufacturing and supply chain integration.
Massive infrastructure expansion and digitalization
To streamline operations and facilitate ease of doing business, Egypt successfully launched the Digital Egyptian Industrial Platform as the unified national gateway for land allocation and investor services. Key structural updates include the following:
- Industrial Parks: The establishment of 16 specialized industrial complexes spanning 15 governorates, adding 4,808 units, of which 3,696 units have already been allocated to active businesses.
- National Footprint: The total industrial zones reached 157, alongside 25 private industrial developer zones.
- Land Allocation: Over 3,152 plots encompassing 8.2 million square metres were allocated via digital portals for 3,104 projects. Additionally, independent state committees assigned 2,942 plots exceeding 14.83 million square metres for 1,758 distinct industrial projects.
- Recent Allocations: Between September 2024 and June 2026 alone, 436 plots spanning over 4.5 million square metres were allocated to 146 projects.
- Infrastructure Achievements: The state achieved 100 percent completion for the first two phases of the specialized textile industry zone in Kafr El-Dawar (housing 90 factories) and the water treatment plant in Kom Abu Radi, alongside a 98 percent completion rate for the mega-industrial project in Upper Egypt. Meanwhile, the Robeiki Leather City has fully completed its first two phases, with its third phase reaching 98 percent completion.
Regulatory overhaul and investor licensing
A rapid wave of bureaucratic deregulation has directly transformed market accessibility. Key legislative milestones include the issuance of the new Industrial Licensing Law and its executive regulations, the executive regulations for the Industrial Development Authority, and the Local Product Preference Law that governs government procurement. Over the 12-year timeline, the state successfully processed the following:
- 16,597 building licenses covering both new construction and upgrades,
- 71,000 operational licenses and 61,400 industrial registry certificates,
- 51,305 environmental clearances to align new facilities with protection standards,
- 18,635 civil defence inspections to clear both notification-based and pre-approved licensing paths.
The ministry introduced new regulations prohibiting the resale, lease, or transfer of allocated industrial land until factories have been in operation for at least three years. It also abolished the temporary industrial registry and replaced it with a conditional registry system to ensure projects are implemented.
Stalled projects were also granted extended grace periods ranging from six to 18 months to adjust their legal status.
Quality controls, technical support, and global wins
Egyptian standards have taken a prominent leap on regional and international stages, capped by Egypt winning the presidency of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for a three-year term under Khaled Sofy, making him the first Arab and second African to hold the post since 1947.
Egypt also secured board membership within the African Organization for Standardisation (ARSO).
- Standardization: The updating and issuance of 8,878 national standard specifications to govern local product metrics.
- Quality & Halal Marks: Issuance of new quality mark licenses for 900 products across 550 facilities and renewals for 3,000 products across 1,500 facilities. Additionally, Halal marks were granted to 15,000 products across 1,700 facilities.
- Corporate Support: The Industrial Modernization Centre provided 19,889 technical support services to 3,296 companies, assisting in green transition, digitalization, and local capacity building.
- Global Recognition: The Egyptian small grid solar cell system project (Egypt-PV) won first place globally at the British Energy Institute Awards in 2020 for carbon emission reduction and secured the Sustainable Green Energy Solution award in 2022.
Workforce development and technical monitoring
To feed the expanding manufacturing footprint, technical educational pipelines and supervisory systems were massively expanded:
- Graduates: 142,206 students graduated across 12 consecutive cohorts in all industrial disciplines with a 98 percent average pass rate, alongside 685 specialized technical technicians trained in advanced fields like mechatronics, elevator systems, and footwear.
- On-the-Job Training: 118,600 third-year students were distributed across 800 industrial companies to gain practical field skills. Furthermore, 1,800 youth were trained in cooperation with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation through the Don Bosco Institute to combat illegal migration.
- Inspections: The Industrial Control Authority carried out 152,134 field inspection campaigns of steam boilers, heavy machinery, and industrial raw materials to ensure compliance with safety and quality standards. It also resolved 14,929 consumer and industrial complaints.
- National Accreditation: The National Accreditation Council (EGAC) became the only body globally to hold mutual recognition from three regional organizations (EA, AFRAC, and ARAC), with its total accredited entities reaching 950 bodies (860 inside Egypt and 90 spanning 22 foreign countries).
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