Encouraging and promoting industrial investments in Upper Egypt's governorates, Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif, stressed the necessity of providing integrated packages of incentives to improve investment climate in Upper Egypt. The new incentives include upgrading infrastructure, especially the road network in Upper Egypt which has the priority in transportation program. On the other hand, the Ministry of Petroleum started supplying natural gas all over Upper Egypt. Moreover, these incentives aim at developing the existing industrial zones, qualifying trained Upper Egyptian labor force, and determining the most competitive industries in Upper Egypt so as to provide profitable projects for investors.

Eng. Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Minister of Trade and Industry, affirmed that in addition to the new incentives the infrastructure including roads, airports and social structure must be attended to. He pointed out that plans were adopted to attract investments over the coming three years, establish 150 factories and improve the efficiency of industrial zones especially the existing ones. The industrial development program cover financial incentives for new projects, including granting lands for free and creating 60,000 job opportunities, Rachid added. He declared that the Industrial Development Authority will be in charge of carrying out this project through the Industry Subsidy Fund.

Chairman of the Fund and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), Amr Assal, announced that the executive regulations – to be issued within two weeks in accordance with a decree of the Minister of Trade and Industry - will involve mechanisms and rules of subsidy. Each project that starts actual production or operation and each project currently under construction will get a financial subsidy of LE15,000 for each labor within 3 years from the date of issuing the decree, with 25 % of the total investments of the project at maximum. Assal said that the subsidy won't be offered in cash but will be discounted from the government dues to be paid by factory such as electricity & fuel invoices, sales tax and customs duties. He also asserted that these projects are not to be nationalized according to free zones law.

Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Dr. Ziad Bahaa El Din, said that as a first stage to develop Upper Egypt, a company is under construction for Upper Egypt development with a capital of LE10 million, aimed to increase investments in Upper Egypt via implementation of electric power, transportation, utilities and services projects. Investment environment in Upper Egypt will be also studied to identify the market gab, and to conduct feasibility studies for investment projects, Bahaa El Din added. The first phase of the project will include setting up six projects including a food processing project of tomato sauce, a financing rent project, in addition to establishing small and medium-scale industries assemblies, four-star tourist hotel, reclamation & cultivation of 20,000 acres and transportation project, he explained. There will be strict regulations to prevent misuse of investment incentives, Bahaa El Din stressed.

Meanwhile, Investors Division at the General Union of the Chambers of Commerce, headed by Mohamed Abul Enein, discussed the new investment incentives in Upper Egypt. Abul Enein expressed the division's keenness to cooperate with the government to improve investment environment in Upper Egypt to make it on equal footing with investment environment in the two cities of the 10th of Ramadan and 6th of October. Furthermore, Farid Khamis, head of Industry and Energy Committee at Shoura Council, announced that a company was founded with a capital of LE500 million in partnership with the Holding Company for Upper Egypt Development. Khamis also donated LE2 million to encourage investment in Upper Egypt.