- Special investment zones are a new generation of investment systems that include a customs outlet and an executive office for GAFI to expedite and simplify all establishment and operation procedures.
- Coordination with the Ministry of Finance is required to present the matter to the Cabinet for final approval of the investment zone, which includes a customs outlet.
Dr. Mohamed Farid, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade:
- Investment zones within customs outlets represent a new generation of areas designed to attract and stimulate investment by simplifying and expediting procedures.
- Intensive promotional campaigns are underway to raise awareness of investment zones as a flexible investment system that provides all the requirements for establishment, licensing, and operation.
- Approving the investment zone for the Talaat Moustafa Group Holding (TMG Holding) serves as an invitation to all investors to adopt this approach.
Hesham Talaat Moustafa:
- Our investments underscore the group's confidence in the fundamentals and competitiveness of the Egyptian economy.
- Investment zones are a strategic mechanism to empower and attract investors and will be relied upon to promote and attract global brands to the region.
- The new project, with investments of EGP 1.4 trillion over 14 years, will provide approximately 55,000 direct job opportunities.
In line with the vision of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the Egyptian investment climate, to mobilize investments and direct them to national priority sectors that provide jobs and support productive and export capabilities, and to work on activating more investment systems in Investment Law No. 72 of 2017, and specifically investment zones, the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), chaired by Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, approved the request of Orion Urban Development (subsidiary of TMG Holding) to establish the first Special Investment Zone (SIZ) in Egypt featuring a customs outlet.
The Spine project is considered one of the largest urban development projects, comprising 165 towers (residential, administrative, and hospitality) built over an area of 506 feddans within Madinaty. It is expected to contribute approximately EGP 818 billion in tax revenues to the state’s general budget, in addition to providing more than 1.5 million square meters of green and open spaces.
The necessary legal procedures are set to be completed in preparation for issuing a Prime Ministerial decree authorizing the establishment of the investment zone, following submission by the MIFT Minister and the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the applicable legal procedures governing such matters.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, MIFT Minister, stated that the approval by the GAFI Board of Directors to establish an investment zone for a subsidiary of TMG Holding to develop The Spine project will include, after coordination with the Ministry of Finance, the addition of a customs outlet. This would make it the first Special Investment Zone to incorporate both a customs outlet and an executive office of GAFI to streamline all establishment and operational procedures. He added that this model represents a new generation of investment zones aligned with investors’ needs—particularly by providing a unified platform for incorporation, licensing, and operations, as well as facilitating export and import requirements.
The Minister added that intensive promotional campaigns will be launched to raise awareness of investment zones as one of the flexible investment frameworks that provide all requirements for establishment, licensing, and operation, thereby contributing to attracting and stimulating investment. He stated: “I invite all investors to familiarize themselves with the various investment frameworks and available incentives in order to benefit from them.”
He further affirmed that the State is moving forward with developing the investment system to make it more competitive and flexible, stating: “We aim to create a world-class business environment capable of accommodating large-scale investments, and to deliver—wherever possible—an economic model aligned with international best practices, reinforcing Egypt’s position as a regional hub attractive to capital.”
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, attended the launch event of the project at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The project is considered the largest of its kind in the Egyptian market, with the participation of the National Bank of Egypt.
In this context, businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO and Managing Director of TMG Holding, affirmed that the project embodies an integrated vision for building future cities, noting that the scale of investments reflects confidence in the strength of the Egyptian economy and the private sector’s ability to lead major development projects under the State’s vision led by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
He also praised the role of MIFT in expanding the mechanisms of investment zones, given their direct impact on improving the investment climate and attracting more domestic and foreign investments.
Hisham Talaat Moustafa added that investment zones represent a strategic mechanism for empowering and attracting investors, and will be utilized to promote the attraction of global brands to the area. He noted that the new project’s investments amount to EGP 1.4 trillion over 14 years and will generate approximately 55,000 direct jobs.
The Special Investment Zone (SIZ) is considered an advanced investment model that provides large-scale projects with a flexible regulatory framework, combining the advantages of investment zones and free zones, while offering a higher degree of administrative autonomy within the project.
This system enables the developer to manage licensing and approvals through a unified board of directors within the project, alongside dedicated regulatory frameworks and customs outlets, effectively transforming the project into an integrated economic entity operating on a smart-city model that attracts international companies and advanced technologies.
This approach reflects the State’s commitment to developing non-traditional investment tools that support public-private partnerships and reinforce Egypt’s position as a regional and global hub for investment and sustainable development.
