Total investment in Egyptian free zones recorded $ 13.4 billion in the first four months of 2021 (January to April) in nine public and 205 private free zones, with an occupancy rate of 85%, according to the head of the General Authority of Free Zones and Investments (FATF) Mohamed Abdel-Wahab.

Abdel-Wahab made his comments during a meeting held Monday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, to take stock of the performance of the free zones, including its investments and projects.

He noted that $ 2.4 billion of total investment is Arab and foreign capital, adding that the gross investment costs of new projects established in the free zones amount to $ 28.4 billion.

Abdel-Wahab added that free zones offer 191,000 job opportunities.

During the meeting, Abdel-Wahab clarified that economic activity in the free zones recorded $ 4.8 billion from January to April, including $ 2.4 billion of commodity exports for the projects. within these zones and $ 2.4 billion in service exports.

He added that the trade balance of the free zones recorded a surplus of $ 465 million during the period, with $ 315 million in fixed asset imports.

In four months, 13 projects were approved for a total capital of 167 million dollars and 748 million dollars in investment costs, according to Abdel-Wahab.

He also explained that 18 ongoing projects increased their capital during the same period with a total of $ 131 million, while 76 projects increased their investment costs by a value of $ 1.3 billion. .

Meanwhile, 56 projects in the free zones increased their workforce by recruiting 3,893 new workers, Abdel-Wahab said.

Despite the severe consequences of the ongoing pandemic crisis, new businesses created from January to April increased by 39.2% to 9,434, compared to 6,778 companies created during the same period in 2020, with total share capital issued. of EGP 31.3. billion, as according to the head of FATF.

Also according to Abdel-Wahab, the shares of Egyptians in the issued capital of new established companies reached EGP 24.9 billion, while the share of foreign investors registered EGP 3.5 billion in the first four months. from 2021.

Short link: