Hassan Allam + Agility to build logistics parks in Egypt

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Hassan Allam and Agility team up on new logistics parks in Egypt

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY-New logistics parks in Egypt: Egyptian development firm Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary Hassan Allam Utilities has formed a joint venture — dubbed Yanmu — with Kuwaiti warehousing and industrial developer Agility to set up and operate logistics parks in Egypt.

WATCH THIS SPACE- More low-sulfur marine fuel refineries to come to Fujairah? The UAE’s Fujairah, the world’s third-largest bunkering hub, expects more energy firms to set up refineries to produce low-sulfur marine fuels due to the fact that it’s “cheaper to produce” there,Mousa Murad, managing director of the Port of Fujairah, told The National on the sidelines of the Fujairah Bunkering and Fuel Oil Forum on Tuesday.

Why low-sulfur marine fuel? Ships’ demand for fuel oil with low sulfur content has been on the rise since the International Maritime Organisation bannedships from using fuels with a sulfur content exceeding 0.5% in 2020.

DATA POINT- A record 107 vessels transited the Suez Canal yesterday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement. Some 92% of the world’s ships pass through the canal, SCA Chairman Ossama Rabie said during a phone-in with Egyptian television program Sabah El Kheir Ya Masr (watch, runtime: 13:55).

Rabie attributes the jump in traffic largely to the deepening and expansion workthat the southern stretch of the Suez Canal underwent, just a few months after the Ever Given got stuck and blocked the waterway for days, which he says helped make way for larger ships to pass through the canal. Some 23.6k vessels transitedthrough the canal in 2022, up 14% from 2021, before the construction work began.

MARKET WATCH-Fitch Ratings has raised its oil price predictions for 2024-2025, on the assumption that it will take longer for prices to stabilize given the OPEC oil cartel’s measured approach to supply increases and Russia’s move to tighten production, according to a statement. Fitch now sees Brent crude settling at USD 75 per barrel (bbl) in 2024, up USD 10 from its previous projection. The ratings agency sees prices cooling to USD 65 / bbl in 2025, up from the USD 53 / bbl it previously penciled in.

SPEAKING OF OIL PRICES- Pricing dynamics have shifted on the back of Western sanctions on Russia: Asian countries have been benefiting off of Western sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil, with prices dropping to new lows as supplies increase to the region, Reuters reports, citing traders, analysts, and Refinitiv Eikon data. Western sanctions on Russia have led Russia to sell more than twice as much crude to Asia in the year to January, according to Kpler data picked up by the newswire, while US sanctions on Iran haveboosted exports to Asia to their highest in three years on some estimates. This marks a shift from a decades-long trend, where Asia paid more for energy than Europe.

Freightos becomes the latest to cut its revenue growth forecast: Online freight booking platform Freightos anticipates 2023 revenue growth of 15-21%, down from a prior forecast of 87% growth, due to declining freight rates and decreasing cargo volumes, the company said in its first earnings report since going public earlier this year.

REMEMBER- Shipping and freight companies have had a rough start to the year. AP Moller-Maersk has also said earnings could plunge 80% this year, while freight forwarder Flexport has laid off workers because of reduced demand and US truck freight brokers have halted their pandemic-era hiring drive amid weaker domestic shipping volume.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Logistics startup Shipsy will host a roundtable on 15 March at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jeddah, according to the company’s website. The event will focus on “Powering the Next Wave of Logistics Excellence,” highlighting recent trends and advances in the logistics tech sector. Attendees of the roundtable include: Aramex’s former COO Iyad Kamal and Shehab Mokhtar, cofounder and CEO of Nomu Group.

The SCZone is in Vietnam: Representatives from Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) are in Hanoi where they will meet with local businesses and investors in a bid to attract investment. The roadshow lasts through to Friday, 17 March.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

Hassan Allam Utilities, Agility to build logistics parks in Egypt

Hassan Allam Utilities + Agility to build logistics parks in Egypt: Egyptian development firm Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary Hassan Allam Utilities has formed a joint venture — dubbed Yanmu — with Kuwaiti warehousing and industrial developer Agility to set up and operate logistics parks in Egypt, the companies said in a joint press release (pdf).

The parks will offer storage and distribution warehouses to companies operating in sectors including e-commerce, manufacturing, consumer products, food and beverages, tech, automotive, energy, industrial goods, healthcare, and pharma, the release reads. They will incorporate sustainable features including solar rooftops. The facilities will offer lower carbon footprints, lower energy costs, and a 35% space savings compared to traditional warehouses, a company executive told EnterpriseAM.

Hassan Allam will project manage and build the parks:Hassan Allam Construction will build the parks under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, Hassan Allam Holding co-CEO Amr Allam told EnterpriseAM. Hassan Allam Holding subsidiary PGESCO will act as the project management consultant, he added.

The first park: Yanmu East Logistics Park will be located on the new Cairo Suez road close to Cairo International Airport and the Ring Road. It is expected to open by August 2023. It will cost some USD 100 mn to build and will be jointly financed by the two partners through a mixture of debt and equity, Agility said in a disclosure (pdf) to the Kuwaiti stock exchange.

A data center tie-in: Yanmu will also develop data center campuses at its warehouses, tying in with the MENA-wide data centers project Agility launched last week. Yanmu East will include a data center featuring 25 MW of IT load, Allam said. Readily available energy will cut delivery time for international data center developers, who have significant appetite for green power at data centers. Egypt is well-positioned as a data center hub given its geographical location and the multiple subsea cables crossing its borders.

Tenants are already lined up: Hassan Allam Utilities has already secured long-term lease agreements with local companies for 50% of the first park’s warehouse space, Allam told EnterpriseAM. The park’s design will save on average 35% of the space required by traditional warehouses to store the same amount of goods, he added.

The second park: Yanmu West Park is set to launch in 2024 at a yet-to-be-finalized “strategic location,” Allam said.

More to come: Yanmu is eyeing further locations in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, and is also considering building “export facilities from key ports,” he added.

Both firms are active in Egypt’s logistics sector: Agility last year said it would invest USD 60 mn to set up and operate two customs and logistics services hubs in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna and East Port Said in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Hassan Allam Utilities signed EGP 4 bn in final contracts alongside Orascom Construction and Samcrete to together build four warehouses for grain and other basic commodity storage for the Egyptian Supply Ministry.

DP World to develop new air cargo logistics hub in the Dominican Republic

DP World will establish a new air cargo logistics hub in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, according to a company statement. The Emirati multinational logistics company is partnering with Punta Cana Freetrade Zone (PCFTZ), a subsidiary of Grupo Puntacana, to develop the new facility, which is expected to begin operations in late 2Q 2023.

The details: The hub “will include a new logistics center and infrastructure platforms capable of supporting multimodal air, land and sea cargo,” the statement said.

DP World already has a presence in the Dominican Republic: The company has “extensive multimodal cargo management experience” in the country, particularly in Punta Caucedo, where it first began operations in the country through a port facility in 2003.

The agreement aims to enhance the Dominican Republic’s position as a major logistics hub in the Caribbean, the statement said, adding that a new regional commerce strategy to attract greater volumes of re-export and import cargo to and from key markets will also be launched as part of the agreement. The agreement also aims to drum up investment in logistics services, create demand for sector-related labor and diversify and grow the Dominican Republic's economy.

CMA CGM Group to launch new service connecting Bangladesh to Gulf markets

French container shipping giant CMA CGM Group is launching the first direct shipping line connecting Bangladesh to Gulf markets, according to a company statement. BIGEX will connect Bangladesh to Jebel Ali port on the southern outskirts of Dubai, as well as Nhava Sheva and Mundra in India. BIGEX will begin sailing from the port of Chittagong, Bangladesh’s main seaport, on 5 April.

Fleet size: Three 1700 TEU vessels will make up BIGEX's fleet. The service will offer a weekly direct connection between Bangladesh and the Gulf, according to the company’s website.

Route: The service’s westbound leg will travel from Chittagong to Jebel Ali, with stops in Colombo, Mangalore, Nhava Sheva and Mundra. The eastbound leg will take the fleet from Jebel Ali to Chittagong via a single stop in Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi.

Journey length: Exports from Chittagong will reach Jebel Ali in just 14 days and Abu Dhabi in 15 days, according to a company press release.

King Abdulaziz Port now has a trade route linking it to the Indian subcontinent

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has linked the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam to the Indian Subcontinent with a new shipping route, the Indian Subcontinent Mediterranean Express (IMX) service, according to a company statement. The IMX service is run by a consortium of Unifeeder, the largest feeder and shortsea network in Europe, Qatar-based logistics and maritime firm Milaha, and the world’s largest feeder carrier, Singapore-based X-Press Feeders.

About IMX: The Hapag-Lloyd AG-operated shipping service operates between ports in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean region. The shipping service includes three vessels, each with a capacity of 3,500 TEUs. The IMX route will also stop at the ports of Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and Hazira and Hamad in addition to King Abdulaziz Port, according to the statement.

REFRESHER- Mawani approved five new shipping services to the Jeddah, Jubail, and Dammam hubs in January, establishing new trade routes between the kingdom and 43 ports across the world.

Iraq eyes operation + management proposals from int’l firms for Faw port

The Iraqi government is looking to court proposals from foreign companies for the management and operation of the Grand Faw Port, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani said during a visit to the port, according to a statement. The country’s Transport Ministry will soon be looking to attract proposals from neighboring countries and countries “friendly” with Iraq, the statement said, without disclosing the names of specific countries or firms.

The country has also already set aside the investments needed to complete the construction of the port in its draft FY 2023-2024 budget, al Sudani said.

About the port: The long-delayed Grand Faw Port, set to be the largest in the Middle East, is one of several projects the country is working on in hopes of creating a shorter corridor between the Middle East and Europe that bypasses the Suez Canal, Reuters reported in 2020. The port will have the capacity to handle 99 mn tons a year, with a 39 km container quay, two km of berths, a container warehouse, and hinterland covering more than 1 mn square meters. South Korean firm Daewoo is working on the construction of the port’s five berths under a USD 2.7 bn contract.

Jordan launches new 2023-2025 export strategy

Jordan’s national exports strategy is here:Plans to implement Jordan’s new exportstrategy will be finalized by the end of the month, Jordanian Trade Minister Youssef Al Shamali said, according to the country’s state news agency Petra. Al Shamali did not disclose further details on what the strategy entails.

The details: The strategy aims to boost and diversify Jordanian exports, tap into new markets, and showcase the quality and competitiveness of the country’s products, according to Al Shamali. The strategy aims to boost Jordanian businesses’ export capabilities and take advantage of the trade and economic agreements the country has signed with others, Al Shamali added.

The country will get a trade information platform + ecommerce strategy:A new trade information platform, and an ecommerce strategy that includes new marketing tactics for the sector, will be launched this week as part of the exports strategy, Al Shamali said.

Shipsy to invest USD 10 mn in the region + to help boost regional SMEs’ logistics operations

Logistics startup Shipsy is investing USD 10 mn in the region: Logistics management platform Shipsy is investing USD 10 mn over the next five years to develop technology innovation and R&D, the company said in a statement, without clarifying in which countries it will pour its investments.

The goal: To boost regional companies’ supply chain operations. “Technologies like AI, automation, ML, IoT, Blockchain and data analytics will create numerous employment opportunities and unlock efficiencies that will help logistics stakeholders build sustainable, agile and cost-efficient logistics processes,” Soham Chokshi, CEO and cofounder of Shipsy said in the statement.

The AI-powered platform provider also inked an MoU with Monsha’at — Saudi Arabia’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority — to offer its tech at a significant markdown to clients channeled through the authority, on the sidelines of Biban 23 Forum.

About Shipsy: Founded by Soham Chokshi (LinkedIn), Dhruv Agrawal (LinkedIn) and Harsh Kuma (LinkedIn), the SaaS-based logistics management platform provides end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions. Shipsy closed a USD 25 mn Series B roundin 2021.

UK + GCC take a step towards free trade agreement. PLUS: Denmark + Egypt Iraq + Iran deepen trade ties

The UK and the GCC took a step towards boosting trade relations during their third round of trade negotiations,The National reported yesterday. Saudi Arabia agreed to remove a trade barrier and open up its market to British honey firms in a move estimated to net UK businesses some GBP 6 mn over five years. Meanwhile, the UK agreed on a trade mission to Dubai, with the aim of helping businesswomen build connections with British companies.

What trade negotiations? Trade talks between the UK and the GCC — including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — over a potential GBP 1.6 bn free trade agreement, officially started in June. The talks come as the UK looks to secure more trade partners after its exit from the EU.

Egypt + Denmark agree to cooperate on shipping, transport: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederikson held a joint press conference yesterday following a meeting (watch runtime 14:25), to discuss bilateral cooperation in the shipping, transportation, and renewable energy sectors, alongside issues of human rights and illegal migration, El Sisi said. Frederikson is on a three-day visit to Egypt, according to Al Shorouk.

OTHER THINGS WORTH NOTING THIS MORNING-

New rail connection between Iraq + Iran? Iraq and Iran are “ready” to construct a new rail link connection from the border crossing Khosravi in Iran to Karbala in Iraq, Miad Salehi, the CEO of Iran's railway company, said. (Mehr News Agency)

US regulators mull crackdown on consolidation in transport sector

US regulators are considering a crackdown on the transportation industry’sconsolidation activity, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Bloomberg. “I am concerned about this broader pattern of concentration. We see it in airlines, we see it in ocean shipping and we see it in freight railroads,” Buttigieg said, adding that “we are watching very carefully to see what’s happening and meanwhile, being as vigorous as we can with the tools that we have on the competition side.” Buttigieg also said the agency is considering whether to weigh in on proceedings before the country’s Surface Transportation Board, the primary railroad regulator, and the Federal Maritime Commission, which oversees ocean shipping companies.

Oman eyeing bidders for design, construction + financing of the Salalah-Thumrait road

Oman wants bidders to design, construct, finance + operate the Salalah-Thamrait road: Oman’s Finance Ministry has opened the door for private sector companies to submit their qualification proposals for the design, construction, finance, operation, and maintenance of the Salalah-Thamrait trucking road, the country’s first carriageway to be built under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model. The deadline for submitting the proposals is 4 May, according to the statement.

About the Salalah-Thamrait road: Spanning a distance of 67 km, the proposed Salalah-Thamrait road will be designed primarily for heavy trucks bearing mineral ores, among other goods, from mineral-rich areas of the Wilayat of Thamrait in Dhofar Governorate.

Fitch Ratings affirmed Trade Bank of Iraq’s long-term issuer default rating at B-, with a stable outlook, it said in a statement. The credit rating agency attributed its rating to the bank’s improving underwriting standards, satisfactory liquidity position, and sizable liquid non-loan assets. Fitch also sees the bank’s liquidity position improving on the back of “higher receipts from oil revenues, which should feed into TBI's balance sheet given its strong links with the Iraqi sovereign.”

The UAE Regulations Lab grants a license for an electric cargo aircraft: The UAE’s RegLab at the General Secretariat of the Cabinet issued a temporary license to test an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the UAE in cooperation with the United Parcel Service (UPS), Emirati state news agency WAM reports. The license will allow UPS to use a new sustainable aircraft to deliver cargo in the UAE.

Container traffic at Saudi ports rose 7.76% y-o-y in February to 622,837 TEUs, according to a statement from the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). The number of containers exported during the month increased 12.7% y-o-y, while imported containers rose 5.9% y-o-y. Transshipments rose 5.39% y-o-y to 234,743 TEUs, while some 883 vessels docked in Saudi Arabia ports during February, up from 842 vessels last February. On the flip side, cargo volumes fell 3.13% y-o-y to 23.1 mn tons.

The breakdown: The volume of dry bulk cargo increased 2.9% y-o-y to 3.8 mn tons, while liquid bulk cargo volumes fell 13.16% to 11.8 mn tons in February. General cargo soared 77.2% y-o-y to 639.8k tons.

Also worth noting:

Finland-based marine and energy lifecycle solutions provider Wärtsilä inked a five-year vessel maintenance agreement with UAE-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), covering seven vessels in NPCC’s fleet. (MarineLink)
Peugeot will supply DHL Middle East with a fleet of light commercial electric vehicles, with a plan to initially roll them out in the UAE, before expanding into other MENA countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. (Statement)

Microsoft now has an AI tool for supply chain managers

The new era of supply chain management:Microsoft has unveiled an AI tool for supply chain managers that can flag issues that can impact supply chain processes — like weather disruptions or issues with financials — as part of a suite of new AI tools, according to a statement. The tool can flag issues that happen across the logistics supply chain, from inventory to carrier and distribution networks, and help generate predictive insights based on the data, the statement said. Supply chain planners can also choose to have Copilot automatically draft an email to alert any impacted partners.

Calendar

MARCH

15 March (Wednesday): Truck and fleet conference, Dubai.

28-30 March (Tuesday-Thursday): Mediterranean Ports and Shipping 2023, Grand Hyatt, Athens, Greece.

APRIL

18-20 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Intermodal Africa, Durban International Convention Centre, South Africa.

25-27 April (Saturday-Monday): World Cargo Symposium, Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel and Conference Centre, Istanbul, Turkey.

MAY

9-11 May (Thursday-Saturday): Airport Show, Sheikh Saeed Halls 1-2, DWTC, Dubai.

9-12 May (Thursday-Sunday): transport logistic, Trade Fair Center Messe München, Munich, Germany.

10-12 May (Friday-Sunday): The African Aviation Summit: Air Finance Africa Conference & Exhibition, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.

15 May (Wednesday): Exports + FDI Forum, Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, Cairo, Egypt.

15-16 May (Wednesday-Thursday): Middle East Rail, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi.

15-16 May (Wednesday-Thursday): Mobility Live Middle East, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi.

15-17 May (Wednesday-Friday): Global Fleet Conference, Cascais, Portugal.

16-18 May (Saturday-Monday): Baltic and Black Sea Ports & Shipping, Radisson Hotel & Suites, Gdansk, Poland.

16-18 May (Saturday-Monday): Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, Dubai, UAE.

16-18 May (Saturday-Monday): IATA Ground Handling Conference, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, Abu Dhabi.

24 May (Friday): Fleet and Mobility Summit, Dubai.

JUNE

6-7 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): Ports and Customs Week, Cape Town, South Africa.

JULY

24-25 July (Monday-Tuesday): ICSG Istanbul, Istanbul Lutfi Kirdar Convention & Exhibition Centre, Istanbul.

SEPTEMBER

20-22 September (Wednesday-Friday): Transport Evolution Africa Forum and Expo, Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC Complex (Durban ICC), South Africa.

OCTOBER

3-5 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Smarter Mobility Africa Summit, South Africa.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2H2023: Construction of Neom’s first hydrogen fueling station will kick off.

2025

Iraq will complete phase one of the construction of the Grand Faw Port.

DHL and Aramco’s logistics and procurement hub in Saudi Arabia will commence operations.

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