Egypt pushing ahead with Suez port expansion projects

Egypt is pressing ahead with plans to develop a new wheat storage facility and expand port operations at two terminals in the Suez area as the country looks to bolster strategic food reserves and attract investment, a top port official said.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as armed forces chief toppled President Mohamed Mursi last July following mass protests, was sworn in on Sunday and seeks to fix Egypt's economy while overcoming political divisions after a long period of turmoil and bloodshed.

Egypt plans to boost its storage capacity in the strategic wheat sector to reduce reliance on imports and cut its 32 billion Egyptian pound ($4.5 billion) overall food import bill. A government minister said this week Egypt wants to be a "global logistics hub" for grain storage.

Hassan Falah, chairman of the Red Sea Ports Authority, said it had recently issued a tender to develop a wheat storage site with a capacity of 2 million tonnes at the port of Adabiya. He declined to disclose the value of the project.

"There are a number of Egyptian banks who are willing to fund the project with any investors and one of them is the National Bank of Egypt," Falah said on a trade visit to Britain this week. "In six months, the winner of the tender will be known."
The National Bank of Egypt could not immediately be reached for further comment.