Egypt is planning to build more than a dozen dry ports throughout the country, in order to relieve congestion at sea ports and improve their performance.

Egypt is preparing to launch a process in January 2024 for the appointment of private partners to participate in the operation of the October 6 City Dry Port, according to a Ministry of Finance source quoted by the Asharq Business media outlet.

The move is in line with the agreements recently signed by the Ministry of Transport to concede the management of dry ports and several logistics platforms to private investors.

"Apart from the selection of partners for the October 6 inland hub, participations are also planned in other planned dry ports such as Sadat, Suez and Borg El Arab, whose operation will be offered to investors in the near future", said Atter Hannoura, Director of the Central PPP Unit at the Ministry of Finance.

The call for expressions of interest is aimed in particular at putting in place the mechanisms to enable the new dry port to become operational, the development of which is at the technical testing stage, according to the Ministry of Transport.

This platform is the first of 14 dry ports planned by Egypt to take over from the seaports and relieve congestion in the face of sustained growth in annual volumes. The port covers an area of 4,500 square meters and can handle some 720,000 TEUs a year.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the full operationalization of this inland platform will "provide additional services to the logistics sector and help reduce road congestion due to truck traffic, as well as the resulting accidents. It will also reduce harmful CO2 emissions".

Agence Ecofin