The Ismail cabinet held its weekly meeting on Wednesday. Decision taken include:

• Approved granting temporary, one-year permits to factories to tide them over until they receive full licensing, as per the package of incentives ordered by the Supreme Investment Council;
• Approving the offering of incentives to get welfare frauds to come forward and get off the smart card system. The same incentives would apparently apply to snitches, too;
• Approved extending an MoU with Lekela power to develop a 250 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez for another year;
• Setting up a company to facilitate funding for the 1,000 factories projects in New Cairo. (The Trade and Industry Ministry will begin withdrawing land from 200-300 “uncommitted” investors in the long-delayed project, something Prime Minister Ismail encouraged recently. This comes despite all previous reports pointing to the government’s delay in issuing permits as the primary reason behind the lag in the project);
• Approved closing out the FY2015-16 budget;
• Approved the development of two universities, one each in Kafr El Sheikh and Assiut.