Good morning, nice people. It’s the final work week of the year, and the news cycle slowdown isn’t going anywhere.

Our lead story today is Egypt’s moves into Djibouti’s maritime infrastructure, after signing a series of pacts to develop a logistics zone and a new port terminal, as well as a port-based solar power project.

The agreements hold strategic importance for Egypt. It will give the country a foothold in the trade corridor that landlocked Ethiopia uses to move up to 95% of its trade, as well as a possible logistics support station for Egypt’s naval forces stationed near the Bab El Mandeb Strait.

We also have exclusive details on advanced talks between Egypt and China to modernize Egyptian shipyards. The talks — which involve the world’s largest shipbuilder, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation — could see China back projects in Damietta, Port Said, and Port Tawfik, giving a boost to Egypt’s plans to expand its own merchant fleet to 150 vessels.

Watch this space-

AVIATION- Taif is the next stop in Saudi’s plan to privatize airports: The National Center for Privatization and Matarat Holding announced that several leading global consortia are in the running for the new Taif International Airport development project. The new airport — located 21 km from the existing Taif Airport — will be executed on a Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) model for a 30-year concession and targets a handling capacity of 2.5 mn passengers by 2030.

Who’s in the running?

  • Turkey’s Kalyon İnşaat is partnering with Al Bawani Capital for one of the bids;
  • Mada International Holding is joining forces with Turkey’s TAV Airports;
  • A third consortium brings together Tamasuk and Bengaluru International Airport;
  • Vision Invest, Asyad, and Dublin-based daa International are putting in a joint bid;
  • New Delhi-based GMR qualified as a standalone company.

The blueprint: The Tibah Consortium (Al Rajhi Holding + Turkey’s TAV Airports) provided the proof of concept that privately run local airports are good for business after successfully tripling capacity to 9.4 mn passengers at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport after taking over in 2012.

REMEMBER- We are waiting for the Abha International Airport concession to be awarded within three months. The winner will finance and build the infrastructure to take the airport’s capacity from 1.5 mn to 13 mn passengers over three phases. Qassim and Hail airports are also reportedly next in line.

IN OTHER AVIATION NEWS- FlyExpress eyes entry into Indian market: Upcoming Dubai-based low-cost carrier FlyExpress is inching closer to securing the necessary licenses to operate in India, after obtaining an initial clearance from the country’s Civil Aviation Ministry, alongside Al Hind Air.

The government’s move to clear the way for two new carriers could be seen as efforts to break the duopoly in the Indian aviation sector and expand competition, after widespread disruptions at IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, wreaked havoc at airports earlier this month. Both carriers are now expected to start the licensing process with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and apply for an Air Operator Certificate.

Details on FlyExpress are scarce, as the soon-to-launch carrier has yet to make any public disclosures about its fleet, launch timeline, or network strategy. Meanwhile, Al Hind Air has its plans in order — it will start with domestic routes and later add flights to the Middle East, beginning with the UAE, using ATR 72-600 aircraft for domestic operations and an Airbus A320 for international services.

The EU is weighing sanctions on Turkish terminals suspected of funneling Russian fuel into Europe through back channels, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. An under-the-radar operator called Turkis Enerji — which runs a storage terminal in the port city of Mersin — reportedly took in 5.5 mn barrels of oil products from Russia worth some USD 500 mn in 2025. Analysts say the facility’s 4.4 mn barrels of exports to the EU are about four times its non-Russian intake, making the presence of EU-bound Russian fuel highly likely.

REMEMBER- Turkey seemed to be divesting from Russian energy for a minute. Ankara inked a slew of short- and medium-term LNG agreements in September, as well as a 20-year LNG agreement with Swiss commodity trading firm Mercuria, in what appeared then to be an attempt to let LNG contracts for some 16 bcm from Russia — its largest supplier — expire this year. However, Ankara extended its contract with Russia for an additional year earlier this month.

Market Watch-

Oil prices surged this morning as markets continued to monitor the possibility of disruptions in the Middle East and a Ukraine-Russia peace deal, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures increased by USD 0.63 to trade at USD 61.27 / bbl as of 04:43 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose USD 0.58 to USD 57.32 / bbl.

The Drewry World Container Index increased by 1% to USD 2,213 per 40-ft container on Thursday, according to the latest index readings. This marks the fourth consecutive weekly jump, and was supported by a rise in transpacific and Asia-Europe rates, especially the Shanghai-Genoa and Shanghai-Rotterdam routes.

The short-term outlook: With early bookings already building up for the February 2026 Lunar New Year, Drewry anticipates a further slight rate uptick next week.

ICYMI- The container shipping market is bracing for a supply glut in 2027, as the potential full return to the Suez Canal meets a record-breaking wave of new ship deliveries, shipowner association Bimco said in a report seen by EnterpriseAM.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

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