Logistics is the management of the movement of resources across the supply chain concentrated in providing freight transport, freight forwarding, warehousing and other value-added services to end users. Egypt’s logistics industry, worth an estimated 13 billion USD makes up nearly 3.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP). In the past year alone, the logistics industry has employed 2% of the 29 million labor force population within the country. The industry services a multitude of sectors ranging from construction, steel, mining and agriculture to distributive trade and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).
Businesses have continued to face numerous disruptions to their supply chains onset by COVID-19 pandemic, and further exacerbated by utility shortages that have reduced productivity. Egypt’s current transportation network is heavily focused on maritime transport through its ports across the Mediterranean and Red Sea, as well as international air trade. While these transport methods offer extensive connectivity, Egypt’s road network remains an underserved area with growth potential. The current domestic road network spans 65,000km concentrated around the main ports and Cairo with limited access to West and South of Egypt. Nonetheless, existing road networks are often congested, in poor structural condition increasing the probability of delays and interruptions costing an estimated 3.6% of GDP according to the World Bank. Added logistical obstacles arise from trade route gaps and inadequate overland cross-border connections.
Egypt’s capital offers a starting point for two Trans-African highways; the first highway being along the African coast and running until Dakar, Senegal and the second spanning across the continent to Cape Town. The latter is severely underutilized due to the lack of a sufficient overland road from Egypt to Sudan with the alternative being vehicles ferried over Lake Nasser from Aswan, a solution viable only for light goods transport. However, with Egypt’s economic growth will remaining positive, further investment in improving and expansion infrastructure with 39 new roadways planed under the National Roads Project paving way for improved connectivity.
According to Fitch’s latest assessment, “The outlook for Egypt’s logistics profile is therefore positive over the long term as the efforts of the Egyptian government to reform the economy have so far helped attract the much-needed investments to carry out these upgrades.” Egypt’s logistics industry is trending towards upward growth supported by the government legislation poised to continue reform of fuel subsidies and ease the current high demand reducing future shortages. Supported by a number of road projects are currently ongoing among the Alexandria-Abu Simbel and Upper Egypt-Read Sea roads, creates room for further competition and a rise in service standards for landborne transportation. The logistics industry’s growth continues to be supported by a large and expanding consumer base as the population grows at 1.9% YoY. Businesses continue to navigate the search for inland transport from Egypt’s major entry and exit ports to maintain the flows of goods within their supply chains.
Within this space, Naqla’s offerings and operations span across container, heavy and light trucking and bulk business transport. Established in 2016, Naqla paved the way with technology to modernize and enhance the logistics industry’s operating system. With over 100K+ journeys completed across 31 million kilometers, keep your trucking simplified. Your truck is a click away.
