Egypt’s Ministries of Industry and Transport are preparing an initiative to support yacht building in the local market, aiming to turn the sector into a “sustainable industry,” and a source of foreign currency, an informed official at the Transport Ministry told Al Manassa.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the initiative includes two scenarios. The first would offer exemptions and ease procedures to set up factories producing equipment that is not available locally, along with a comprehensive inventory of locally manufactured equipment to help identify manufacturers’ needs.
The second scenario would provide manufacturers with low-interest financing, the source said, adding that the first scenario is “more likely to be implemented” at the current stage.
The move comes as Minister of Transport and Industry Kamel Al-Wazir announced Thursday at the International Boat Show that Egypt plans to build eight new marinas on the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts, with ambitions to raise the total to 100 marinas, as part of a wider push to support industries linked to tourism.
The source said the Transport Ministry plans to continue supporting the sector by regularly updating a map of marina and port sites ready to receive yachts, and coordinating with the Industry Ministry to ease licensing procedures for new factories.
Yacht tourism has seen “notable growth” in recent years, the source said. Egypt’s marinas received about 393 foreign yachts in 2024, rising to 500 last year, with expectations to reach 600 by the end of 2026.
In October, the minister said Egypt does not have even 1% of the global yacht industry and yacht tourism, stressing the need to develop yacht manufacturing and maritime tourism.
Egypt currently has 23 tourist marinas, including 14 on the Red Sea, and nine on the Mediterranean.
In July 2023, the Transport Ministry launched the “one-stop shop for yacht tourism” system to simplify and speed up procedures, allowing yachts to complete all transactions within half an hour, compared with about 30 days previously.
In October 2024, the ministry’s Maritime Transport and Logistics Sector required tourist yachts flying foreign flags to pay for fuel in foreign currency at global prices, according to the source, and the decision was officially circulated to relevant authorities.
