GAFI hands out six golden licenses: The General Authority for Investments and Freezones (GAFI) has awarded six golden licenses for projects worth a combined EGP 5.6 bn, according to a statement from the authority.

The projects that have been awarded the license:

#1- A railway parts factory: The National Egyptian Railway Industries Company — a joint-venture between the state and the private sector — will build and operate an EGP 3.6 bn railway parts factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone for rail, metro, and high-speed train components and supplies.

#2- An alternative fuels plant: EnviroProcess will set up an EGP 74 mn recycling plant for alternative fuels and fibers in Minya. We first heard about this back in October.

#3- Warehouse facilities in Luxor: Hassan Allam will build and operate strategic warehouse facilities in Luxor with EGP 1.5 bn in investments.

#4 & #5- Two new towers on the Nile Corniche: Nilus Hotel and Commercial Services and Nilus Residential Services will build a large real estate project at an investment of EGP 463.5 mn. The project will consist of two new towers on the Nile Corniche housing residential, commercial, and administrative units.

ICYMI: The companies got the thumbs up from the cabinet to build the towers on the National Democratic Party’s former headquarters in March. The chairman of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s tourism sun-fund told local media in August that the project could cost a combined USD 5 bn and would be completed by 2Q 2028.

#6- Food packaging factory: Limited liability company ICE LINX will build and operate a 100% export-oriented food processing and packaging plant with an investment of EGP 134.6 mn in New Borg El Arab. We heard about a similar — or possibly the same — project earlier this month when ICE LINX was granted a golden license for the same type of plant in the same location, but with investment of up to EGP 205 mn.

Golden licenses? Introduced in the Investment Act of 2017, golden licenses create a streamlined process to set up new industrial and infrastructure projects that fit a certain list of requirements and criteria. Rather than exempting investors from the necessary approvals, the acquisition of the license serves as a one-stop shop for all necessary approvals to move forward with a project. The Madbouly government made it easier in December 2022 for industry to receive the licenses by scrapping a minimum issued capital requirement and allowing companies to apply for it online.

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