Staff report: CAIRO, July 2, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has given directives to the Transport Ministry and state bodies concerned to complete the consideration of the strategic plan for upgrading the national transport and logistics network and to draw up a precise plan of action for the implementation of the strategy in accordance with specific time frames. The directives to this effect came at a meeting that President Sisi called Monday with Transport Minister Hisham Arafat, the head of the Suez Canal Authority and head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), Mohab Mameesh, and the head of the Administrative Control Authority, Mohamed Erfan, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said in a statement. The strategy aims at transforming Egypt to a global hub for the transport and logistics industry, consequently contributing to the realisation of the requirements of the state plans for economic development, the Presidency Spokesman said. Action to this end can be achieved through optimising the modalities of benefiting from the Suez Canal, the country's geographical location and the infrastructure now available in Egypt, Spokesman Radi said in the statement summing up the discussions at the meeting. The objectives of the strategy can also be achieved through building the logistical axes for multi-medium transport system that comprises maritime, river, land and railway transport, thereby enabling the country's transport sector to gain access to a considerable share in the volume of regional and international shipping. In addition, the strategy aims at providing transport services for people and goods with the highest efficiency, speed, world safety standards, minimum cost and the least energy consumption rates – all in accordance with the world's environmental quality standards. The presidential directives call for involving all the government bodies concerned in the process of completing the study especially since the strategy involves multiple sectors and covers the entire territory of Egypt with its coasts, waterways and roads. The directives also call for benefiting from past experiences in this field, Spokesman Radi said. In the course of the meeting, President Sisi laid emphasis on the importance of continuing the process of developing all means of transport, referring in this connection to their principal role within the framework of the economic development plan as well as in facilitating the movement of citizens, Spokesman Radi said. The strategic plan also involves the development of legislative frameworks and legal basis related to means of transport through amending some existing laws and joining some international agreements regulating the transport of products and goods. President Sisi also held a separate meeting with Transport Minister Hisham Arafat, head of the Administrative Control Authority Mohamed Erfan, the head of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Major General Kamel el-Wazeer and the head of the National Company for Roads Major General Magdy Anwar. During the meeting, President Sisi urged speeding up the conclusion of a study to develop the road safety system in all its aspects and in such a manner that would provide citizens with efficient means for handling the risks of accidents and limiting their effects. The president also highlighted the necessity for ensuring the availability of various basic services on all such roads, including car refuelling stations, ambulances and service centres in addition to pursuing work on realising the highest security and safety levels in the transport sector in order to reduce the occurrence of accidents on roads and improve services to citizens.
