IDA Grants 4 Companies Steel-manufacturing Licenses With LE2 Bln Investments and 6000 Jobs

Four companies won licenses for steel factories in Egypt, as the government seeks to boost production and lower imports of supplies for a fast-growing construction industry. These companies are Port Said National Company for Steel, IIC for Steel Plants Management, Al-Marakbi and Al-Wataniya.

IDA Chairman, announced that these four new companies were among nine to be granted licenses for the production of 2 million tons of iron and 1 million tons of billet. Half of these investments will be located in Upper Egypt. The production capacity of the factories will be announced soon, IDA Chairman added.

 IDA Chairman said that the four companies' respective production capacities would be determined in coming days in accordance with mandatory requirements, on the condition that the IDA committee’s decisions were presented to the IDA’s administrative council for approval by5January.

Three of the other competitors who lost out on contracts already own rebars factories. The failed bidders will be invited to enter the next round of bidding to be launched soon, when the required amounts of natural gas are available. These companies are namely, al-Garhey, Beshay and Rashed who have a collective market share of 55 percent of rebars production according to the chamber for the metal industry. EZZ the Egyptian market leader in terms of sales has a market share of rebars of 30%.

IDA Chairman pointed out that companies with operations in Upper Egypt would receive fifty per cent of overall production capacity. IDA had previously awarded licenses authorizing production of up to two million tons of steel rebars and one million tons of steel plating, in accordance with technical and financial qualifications.

The new licenses are expected to provide 6000 new jobs and to attract an estimated LE2 billion investments.