Three partners sign MoU to study 273k sqm Dekheila logistics hub

A 273k sqm plot in Dekheila Port’s western hinterland could become a hub for storage, re-export, and light manufacturing, which is the kind of value-added work that turns a container in transit into a repackaged export. The Alexandria Port Authority (APA), Hassan Allam Utilities (HAU), and Al Tarek Capital Real Estate Asset Management signed an agreement to study setting up, developing, and operating the hub, according to separate statements (here and here, pdf).

No commitment yet: The MoU merely covers a study, and HAU and Al Tarek still need a final agreement and regulatory approvals before they can build and run the hub, HAU says. Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir directed the parties to hold meetings so they can sign a terms-and-conditions agreement and start work. Neither statement puts a figure on the investment or a date for construction.

The land is not yet inside the port’s customs boundary. HAU’s statement describes the plot as “intended to be incorporated into the port’s customs zone,” and says the re-export and transit work is subject to approvals for freezone status or a similar framework. Read together, that points to two steps: bring the hinterland under the port’s customs jurisdiction, then secure a duty-suspension regime for the activities. The statement doesn’t spell that out, and it leaves open whether the whole plot or part of it gets the status.

Freezone status is the familiar route at Dekheila. The Customs Law’s executive regulations define freezones as areas within the customs territory that are treated as outside it for customs purposes, so goods can be stored, processed, and re-exported duty-free, with duty paid only on what enters the local market. The model is already operational at the same port: the cabinet approved an 840k sqm private freezone for the El Dekheila Container Terminal Company at Berth 100 in July 2024, and Venus Freezone runs a grain storage facility of more than 103k sqm at the port.

The demand case is easier to make, since container traffic through Alexandria and Dekheila rose 14% to 2.59 mn TEUs in FY 2025/26, and transit containers jumped 74% to 553.4k TEUs. More boxes are coming once the new terminal at Berth 100 starts operating, with capacity of up to 1.5 mn TEUs a year under a BOT contract with an alliance of Hutchison, COSCO, CMA CGM, and MSC. By our read, the port is adding capacity to move containers faster than it is adding space to open, relabel, and re-export them, and that’s the gap the hub is meant to fill.

APA already lists a 273-feddan logistics zone for value-added industries at Dekheila, with reclamation 62.7% complete through its first 153-feddan phase. At about 1.15 mn sqm, that zone is roughly four times the MoU plot by our math, and neither statement says whether the 273k sqm sits inside it.

IN CONTEXT- HAU brings a logistics track record. HAU Logistics, its platform with AP Moller Capital, launched in 2023 targeting c. USD 200 mn of investment in logistics, air freight, and warehousing. It runs the 270k sqm YANMU East Logistics Park in East Cairo in a joint venture with Agility. “Transport and logistics are central to our investment strategy,” Amr Allam, co-CEO of Hassan Allam Holding and chairman of HAU, said, adding that the Dekheila hub brings port connectivity and value-added logistics together. Al Tarek, whose Chairman Mohamed Tarek signed for the company, hasn’t disclosed its role or its split with HAU.

What’s next: Watch for the terms-and-conditions agreement, the customs and freezone approvals, and the land terms.