Egypt eyes logistics links with Tanzania as investors sign in Elsewedy’s zone

Egypt is eyeing a set of logistics links with Tanzania, including a Safaga-Dar es Salaam shipping route and a Cairo-Dar es Salaam multimodal corridor, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said during a visit to the East African country, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Egypt is also ready to help expand the Port of Dar es Salaam as part of a wider regional plan linking Tanzania to its landlocked neighbors. The two governments signed two MoUs spanning transport, electricity, and renewable energy, though no timeline or investment figures were attached to the broader proposals.

Beyond the ports: The two sides also discussed a land-reclamation project in Tanzania to grow staple and strategic crops for both countries, with room to add exports later. Cairo wants Egyptian firms to build on their work on the USD 2.9 bn, 2.1 GW Julius Nyerere hydropower project — built by Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric — by securing further infrastructure contracts in the country.

Why it matters: A Safaga-Dar es Salaam line would extend the trade network Egypt has been building across the Red Sea and East Africa, which already includes a maritime pact with Eritrea, a foothold at Djibouti's Doraleh port, and transit waivers covering six East African countries, Tanzania among them. Plugging into Dar es Salaam would open Egyptian access to Tanzania’s links to landlocked markets, including Zambia, the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda — a combined market of more than 250 mn people.

GO DEEPER- We took a closer look at Egypt’s bid to turn its Red Sea ports into redistribution hubs for East African trade in our recent deep dive.

ALSO- Seven Egyptian investors took up plots at Elsewedy Industrial City in Tanzania, according to a statement. The investors signed MoUs to build pharma, engineering, and food-production plants on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Tanzanian Business and Investment Forum. The 2.6 mn sqm Egyptian-run industrial zone was unveiled by Elsewedy Industrial Development in November 2023, with a USD 400 mn investment target across roughly 200 factories. The statement didn't name the investors or disclose the size of their commitments.

IN CONTEXT- The tie-ups are one piece of a wider Africa push. Elsewedy Electric Tanzania Managing Director Ibrahim Qamar said the company’s transformers and cables plant there supplies South Africa, Kenya, the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi — markets once served directly out of Egypt. Separately, Elsewedy has committed USD 2.5 bn to Algeria in 2025 and is lining up Nigeria, Angola, and Ghana as the first export markets for its USD 500 mn ROX EV joint venture.