Egypt offers new lands to narrow $30 bn trade gap

Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is set to offer for sale 1.7 million square metres of lands to investors, as part of a plan to narrow the country’s $30 billion trade gap, according to a statement on Sunday 13/8/2023.

The IDA will offer 790 plots of land across 14 governorates to local and foreign investors on 16 August.

The lands are earmarked for 152 investment opportunities in industrial sectors, said Mohamed Abdel-Karim, head of the IDA.

The new opportunities will cover fields including engineering, chemicals, building materials, food, and pharmaceuticals, Abdel-Karim added.

Egypt has already sold $2 billion worth of land between 1 January and 30 June 2023, announced Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar on 27 July.

The country’s trade deficit grew by 4.3 percent to $3.74 billion in May 2023, compared to $3.57 billion in the same month last year, owing to a plunge in natural gas exports and a surge in wheat imports.

Source: State Information Service Egypt