Industrial permits in Lebanon up by 45%

The Lebanese Ministry of Industry (MoI) issued 476 industrial permits in the first six months of the year, a 45 percent increase compared to the same period last year. These include new establishment licenses, expansion approvals, exploitation permits, and renewals.

The MoI issued 139 licenses for the establishment of new factories. “Investors’ appetite for putting money in the industrial sector is growing,” said Dany Gedeon, Director General at the Ministry.

Food industries and construction material industries accounted for 40 percent of licenses for new factories. “Small and medium-sized projects are opting for opportunities in the agro-food sector, especially in rural areas,” said Georges Nesraoui, Vice Chairman of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists. The majority of these factories produce pickles, spices, and traditional sweet beverages.

The MoI also issued a number of licenses for water bottling plants, whose licensing used to be under the authority of the Ministry of Public Health, according to Gedeon.

Some permits were issued to factories that had been operating without licenses.

“A lot of operating factories that were working without licenses decided finally to get their businesses licensed, and this is a good sign,” said Gedeon.

Two licenses were issued for heavy industrial factories (first category, according to MoI classification), 124 for ‘semi-heavy’ industrial factories (second category), 162 licenses for ‘light’ industrial factories (third category), 156 for ‘semi-light’ factories (fourth category), and 32 licenses for very light industrial factories (fifth category).

The lion’s share of approvals (75 licenses) was for factories in Metn’s industrial zones, followed by Baalbek (70) and Aley (49).