Egypt's mega industrial city

The Jordanian Industrial City

A large-scale industrial project is to be built in Cairo, according to Egypt's Industrial Development Authority (IDA).

Budgeted at $5 million and co-founded by Jordanian Al Tajamouat Investment Company, the mega-industrial complex with be spread across 1.2 million square metres of land and will feature the involvement of 210 small to medium scale industries.

Following the success of the Jordan Industrial City, which has become the largest and most developed in the country, Al Tajamouat Investment is hoping the Cairo project will be just as successful. As such, earth leveling has already been completed with official marketing scheduled to begin early next year.

Speaking to Daily News Egypt, Al Tajamouat Project Manager Janset Kasht explained, "We will be developing infrastructure across the entire plot, introducing commercial, industrial and warehousing facilities in different shapes and sizes to accommodate any light industry."

"By November 2010 we will have a developed industrial sample unit ready for operation."

Three stages, seven years

Investments in the project are said to total over $200 million and the estate, purchased from the Egyptian government, is expected to be developed over the next seven years. It will be built in three stages over this time, but when finished it is expected to generate between $500-800 million in exports when fully operational.

As such, it is hoped it will attract approximately $1 billion of foreign and local investment, creating a minimum of 50,000 job opportunities in the Egyptian labor pool. These figures are anticipated after full development of the estate.

"We are experiencing more and more Egyptian investors seeking to reserve areas within the plot, in addition to foreign investors with the long-term vision willing to seize this opportunity as the economy commences its road to recovery," Kasht said.

"I believe that by upgrading the industry, opening new markets and attracting international sourcing companies, this will put Egypt on the map as a major supplier of ready-made apparels and textiles. Consequently this will develop industry knowledge and facilitate healthy competition."

Although the garment and textile industry has been mentioned as the main focus of the project, other proposed industries will include packaging, engineering, electronics, jewelry, furniture, pharmaceuticals, warehousing and logistics.

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