Egypt comes under APL spotlight

Egypt comes under APL spotlight    APL and APL Logistics have released a new report detailing the trade growth potential, and current obstacles to that growth, in Egpyt.
   Middle East and North African officials from the Singapore-based line were in Cairo this week to launch the report, Connecting Egypt: Opportunities and Challenges in Freight Transportation and Logistics.
   The report chronicles a country at the brink of significant trade growth based on several key factors:
   ' Its ownership and control of the vital Suez Canal.
   ' Its potential as a manufacturing hub for North America, Europe and China.
   ' Its ability to serve as a conduit for north and east African cargo.
   Key to the last point is the underutilization of the Nile River, the world's longest waterway, but one that has been long overlooked as a way to convey cargo to inland Egypt and its neighbors to the south.
   Like other country reports APL has released in recent years — including ones on China, India and Vietnam — the analysis finds that there are infrastructure shortcomings that could put the brakes on potential growth. Insufficient road infrastructure and a lack of use of freight rail are two of the more glaring deficiencies. But there is also a need to develop more air cargo and modern marine container terminals to handle expected throughput growth.
   Egypt saw 5.4 million TEUs of containerized trade in 2008, and while that number is expected to dip this year due to the global downturn, Egyptian officials foresee a tripling of containers by 2025.
   The country's ports today are equipped to handle current volume, but not much more, and so development of modernized facilities is key, but so too is the connectivity between Egypt's key ports — Port Said, Damietta, Alexandria and Sokhna — and its urban population centers clustered around the Nile.
   On that count, the report suggests the country apply the public-private partnership model to upgrade roads and develop dedicated freight rail corridors. It also recommends use of the Nile as a way to alleviate a dependence on road-based freight transportation.
   If the country can build a reliable freight network with enough capacity to handle expected trade volumes, the payoff would be higher GDP growth, the report said.
   APL has been in Egypt for more than a decade through a local agency, but in April 2008 opened a wholly owned subsidiary, APL Egypt, to take more control over its operations in the country.
   With a population of more than 80 million people and a perfect strategic location for cargo moving between Asia and Europe (and back again), the shipping line and its sister logistics arm see enormous potential for the country to become the most important in the Middle East/North Africa region.
   The report was commissioned by APL and APL Logistics and authored by consultant Frost & Sullivan.