Reforms, infrastructure lift Egypt’s industrial real estate outlook, Polaris Parks says
Egypt’s industrial real estate sector is benefiting from structural reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and a more pragmatic policy environment, Polaris International Industrial Parks Managing Director Osman Evren Arikan said on Thursday.
Polaris has operated industrial parks in Egypt since 2007.
Arikan said Egypt’s population growth continued to support long-term industrial demand, describing the country as having “a fundamentally growing and potential demographic.”
He also said Egypt’s location placed it at the centre of global trade routes for industrial activity, adding that “Egypt is in the centre of the world.”
Arikan pointed to improvements in ports, airports, road networks, electricity infrastructure, and fibre-optic connectivity, saying these upgrades had improved logistics competitiveness.
He said Egypt’s expanding network of free trade agreements with more than 70 countries supported its position as an export base, describing it as “a kind of free zone for most of the markets in the world.”
Arikan said governance and institutional changes had improved the operating environment, adding that the country was now in a more transparent and pragmatic policy phase.
He attributed part of this shift to increased participation of technocrats and private-sector professionals in policymaking, calling it “the biggest improvement” in recent years.
He said Egypt’s currency reforms and broader macroeconomic adjustments should be seen as structurally necessary measures.
Arikan said Egypt was competing with regional peers, including Morocco and Saudi Arabia, for industrial investment.
He said pharmaceuticals and food processing were among the most established sectors, while textiles, automotive, and medical goods had further growth potential.
He said cost competitiveness, supported by labour and energy pricing, was currently attracting industries to Egypt, but warned that current energy price levels were unlikely to remain sustainable in the long term.
Arikan said future competitiveness would depend on efficiency, productivity and operational innovation rather than energy pricing alone.
He said Polaris plans to develop three additional industrial parks over the next three to four years, with investments exceeding $500 million.
He added that the company is also exploring expansion into electricity distribution services and medium-sized residential projects as part of a broader diversification strategy.
Arikan said integrated utility management within industrial zones could improve efficiency and service delivery, based on models used in other markets.
The discussion took place during the “Building Egypt’s Future Cities: Investment, Infrastructure, and Integrated Communities” Session that brought together Housing Minister Randa El-Menshawy, Rory Brooke, Head of Economics at Savills, Osman Evren Arikan, Managing Director of Polaris International Industrial Parks, and Hazem Helal, Chief Executive Officer of O West, Makadi Heights and Bayoum at Orascom Development Holding (ODH), to examine the role of urban development, infrastructure investment and integrated communities in supporting Egypt’s long-term economic growth.