CAIRO-GB Auto S.A.E., the biggest independent car maker in the Middle East, said it will build a 75 million Egyptian pound ($13.2 million) automotive warehouse and logistics facility in Egypt's Sadat City. GB Auto was awarded the 700,000 square metre plot of land in a government tender, the Cairo-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Construction of the facility will start in three months and the warehouse will become fully operational within 12 to 18 months, GB Auto said. “This bonded facility will allow us to receive our imports of containers as well as completely built up vehicles as soon as they arrive in Egypt's ports,” Raouf Ghabbour, GB Auto's chief executive officer said in the statement. “At our current rate of import, the facility will save GB Auto some 30 million pounds per year.” GB Auto may be able to generate 30 million pounds in revenue per year by renting out parts of the warehouse to other car makers, the company said. Sadat City is 90 kilometres north of Cairo. Shares of GB Auto rose 2.5 per cent to 40 Egyptian pounds yesterday, valuing the company at 5.03 billion Egyptian pounds. GB Auto shares have gained 58 per cent this year.
