Checking in on plans to expand logistics zone infrastructure: Egypt has been working for the past several months on setting up several logistics zones across the country and localizing supply chains. The government is planning to set up 60 logistics zones and hubs across Egypt by 2030, with these split into zones to service the governorate they’re set up in and other zones to service surrounding governorates. The push to expand our logistics infrastructure network comes as internal trade accounts for a growing portion of the country’s GDP, rising to 22% of the economy in FY 2021-22 from 14.7% the previous fiscal year, according to Supply Ministry figures.

What’s been happening so far: The ministry’s 2030 plan entails setting up eight zones to service the governorate in which they’re established, three of which are currently in the execution phase, in addition to 52 zones to service surrounding governorates, with 11 of these currently being built. These include an 82-feddan, EGP 8 bn logistics zone in Gharbia; a 91-feddan zone in Beheira costing EGP 11 bn; one EGP 2 bn zone in Qena spanning 15.5 feddans; one zone in Fayoum spanning 5 feddans and costing EGP 1 bn; a 17-feddan zone in Menoufia worth EGP 2 bn; a 47-feddan, EGP 5 bn zone in Dakahlia; and one zone in Luxor spanning 3 feddans costing EGP 1 bn.

Last month, the ministry broke ground on two trade and logistics zones in Kafr El Sheikh spanning 22 feddans that cost some EGP 5-6 bn. The two centers include warehouses, packaging facilities, storage yards — including cold storage, and office and service units, as well as shopping centers, according to the ministry.

Plenty more is in the pipeline: The ministry is also tendering a 35-feddan zone in Sharqia that’s expected to cost EGP 4 bn, along with another zone in the Red Sea governorate that will span 60 feddans and cost EGP 7 bn, and a 30-feddan zone in Suez that will cost EGP 3.5 bn.

Where does the private sector come in? The government is currently in talks with several private sector investors to cooperate on expanding logistics hubs and setting up large scale storage and supply chain zones, Assistant Supply Minister and Internal Trade Development Authority head Ibrahim Ashmawy told Enterprise. The government had signed back in 2020 an agreement with France’s Semmaris and the French Development Agency (AFD) to improve the efficiency of Egypt wholesale markets in Egypt. We also signed a USD 500 mn agreement with India’s LuLu Hypermarket in 2019 for four new retail outlets in Sixth of October City, New Cairo, and Obour City. The company had also said it planned to build two logistics centers from which it will be targeting exports, particularly frozen fish, to markets in the GCC and Europe.

The government has a “clear, ambitious roadmap” that includes plenty of partnerships with the private sector for the expansion of logistics centers and hubs across the country, Ashmawy told us. There are currently 26 projects on offer worth a combined EGP 60 bn in investments, including large-scale warehousing and storage facilities for international companies that will cater to the needs of individual governorates, according to Ashmawy. The government had launched back in 2018 a comprehensive investment map that includes, among other things, several logistics zones and related infrastructure projects, Ashmawy noted.

These new logistics hubs are going to be a lifeline for industry — and will play a major role in supporting the country’s export expansion plans, our sources told us. There’s strong investment interest from international players to get in on the projects the government is offering, our sources indicated, particularly as the government looks to make available 133 feddans near industrial cities to set up logistics areas for the private sector. These logistics areas will help simplify the process of marketing and exporting products, Emad Bahr, former director of the Dates Complex in El Wadi El Gedid and Undersecretary of the Agriculture Directorate, told Enterprise. Setting up a logistics area in El Wadi El Gedid, for example, gives the country’s date production industry a golden chance to boost its exports by consolidating the supply chain in one area; rather than shipping dates 1k km for packaging, for example, date producers in the governorate will be able to package their products in the logistics zone, Bahr said.

Your top infrastructure stories for the week:

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  • More EV charging stations: Two local firms, a subsidiary of Elsewedy Electric dubbed Elsewedy Plug and Ikarus Electric, have each received one-year licenses to build EV charging stations.
  • Emirati firm to build pyramids hotel: Abu Dhabi Tourism Investment Company has earmarked USD 95 mn to build a large hotel in the Giza pyramids area.
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