Egypt will start carrying out its global logistics centre project next month, the country's minister of supply Khaled Hanafy announced on Monday. The project will be with estimated investments at 15 billion Egyptian pounds (US$2.1 billion). The centre aims to transform Egypt into a hub for logistical, global storage, and will introduce global mechanisms for storing, handling and packaging grains and food commodities. The Egyptian minister also revealed that his country plans to finalise the project by end of 2016. The total amount of trade expected for the multimedia transportation systems for the project is around 65 million tonnes per year, Hanafy noted. He further said the project would then contribute to secure strategic food security of Egypt and export to surrounding countries. The total area for the proposed project is 3.350 million square metres, of which 500.000 metres fall within the boundaries of the Damietta Port, the minister added. The remaining 2.79 million square metres comprise a portion of the untapped industrial area northeast of the port. Moreover, Minister Hanafy clarified that the project provides for the construction of modern silos and domes for storage in three storage areas with a capacity of 7.5m tonnes. This project will serve to quadruple the capacity of Egypt's ports from 2.5 million tonnes to 10 million tonnes. The Project will also include two 700 metre-long sea-quays to accommodate large ships in addition to a 1,200 meter long river-quay. The official also said the project covers the construction of five investment and industrial zones for grains and food commodities with a total land use of 1.7m metres. Morever, he highlighted that the project also includes a complete electronic system for surveying, monitoring, and managing marine operations, freight, allocation, inspection, and customs clearance. In October, the government adopted a project to establish a global logistics centre in Damietta for the handling and storage of grain and food commodities. Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab announced it as a national project that is of no less important than the Suez Canal expansion.
