Egypt’s Cabinet has approved a proposed co-operation protocol between the ministries of Industry, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Local Development and Environment to implement the “Productive Village” initiative and regulate the offering and allocation of land and buildings designated for the project.
The approval, which came during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, is an implementation of directives issued by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during Egypt Forum 2026.
The President called for expediting the initiative, which aims to establish industrial clusters in 1,000 villages by 2030, based on each village’s comparative advantages.
The initiative seeks to transform rural communities from consumer centres into sustainable production hubs by establishing small and medium-sized industrial facilities on vacant land and unused state-owned buildings in villages.
Building on the infrastructure improvements achieved through the presidential Decent Life (Haya Karima) initiative, the new programme aims to move rural communities towards greater economic activity and industrial development.
The proposed protocol establishes the framework for co-operation and implementation procedures, including the designation of specific areas across governorates for industrial facilities suited to local conditions and targeted industries.
Its implementation plan includes offering 1,000 investment opportunities by 2030 through 14 quarterly rounds, with around 100 to 150 opportunities in each round.
Under the agreement, ownership and oversight of the assets will remain with the respective government entities, while the Industrial Development Authority will handle the offering, allocation and industrial monitoring of the projects.
The protocol also provides for allocating the assets through an annual usufruct system, with the Industrial Development Authority responsible for launching the investment opportunities.
Proposed incentives will also be introduced to ensure the commitment of beneficiaries.
