NRPMC Commences Strategic Shipments of Wheat
Minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Minister of Transportation, Alaa Fahmy and Chairman of the River Transport Authority, General Karim Abu El Khair attend ceremony to mark the initiation of NRPMC's strategic contract to ship 2 million tons of imported wheat each year along the River Nile
The National River Port Management Company (NRPMC), Egypt's leading operator of river ports, marked the start of a strategic five-year contract to transport up to 2 million tons of wheat annually along the River Nile for Egypt's General Company for Silos and Storage (GCSS), with a ceremony held on the premises of its first operating river port in the district of Tanash, Imbaba (20 kilometers north of Cairo).
The ceremony was attended by key Ministers and government officials including Minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Minister of Transportation, Alaa Fahmy and Chairman of the River Transport Authority, General Karim Abu El Khair.
The 27,500-square-meter port, which has been operational since late 2009, is capable of handling 2 million tons of grain and other bulk material and 110,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per annum. Its strategic location 1.5 kilometers away from the Cairo Ring Road gives it direct access to Sixth of October and Tenth of Ramadan cities, Cairo's main industrial centers.
NRPMC won a public tender to rent the Tanash Port from Nasr Co. for Casting in March 2008 for a period of 15 years. Since then, the company has invested over US$ 3 million to upgrade facilities and purchase new handling equipment.
The wheat contract will see 30 barges operated by NRMPC sister company Nile Cargo move 750,000 tons of wheat in 2010. The door-to-door service will deliver wheat to silos and mills nation-wide, with a particular emphasis on reaching the governorates of Upper Egypt, namely Beni Suef and Minya, where NRPMC is developing new river ports to serve its clients.
"Transporting wheat via river barges will save the state up to 20% of what it would have paid to transport by truck," said NRPMC Chairman Gen. Maged Farag. "The result is simple: More funds will be freed to directly support the state's subsidy program rather than covering overheads such as transport."
NRPMC and Nile Cargo are Portfolio Companies of Nile Logistics, Citadel CapitalCitadel Capital's Platform Company in the logistics, river transport and port management sector. Citadel CapitalCitadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa with US$ 8.3 billion in investments under control in 15 industries spanning 14 countries.
National Ports has already committed US$ 27 million to the roll-out of an unparalleled river-transport network that will create 500 new direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs in 2010 alone.
The company is developing four additional river ports: Tebbin (15 kilometers south of Cairo), Alexandria (2 kilometers south of the Port of Alexandria on the Nubaria Canal), Beni Suef and Minya. Plans are also underway to roll out ports in Assuit and Aswan to complete a network of ports to connect the north and south of Egypt.
"Locking-in lower transport costs and realizing new loading / unloading efficiencies through our strategically located network of river ports will also allow GCSS to right-size the flow of wheat to consumers," adds Farag.
The move will also ease pressure on Egypt's highway network, with a single 100-meter river barge moving as much wheat as 40-50 trucks. It is estimated that in 32 hours ten barges can transport the same amount of goods as a truck could move in 30 days.
The GCSS wheat contract is Nile Logistics' second major deal. In 2008 the company was awarded a contract to transport 750,000 tons of coal and coke between Alexandria and Tebbin for Al-Nasr Company for Coke & Chemicals, one of the largest producers of metallurgical coke in the Middle East.
Nile Cargo is currently building 62 new state-of-the-art river barges. The first of the new barges is scheduled to come into service by mid-2010. Each vessel will have the ability to handle containers, dry bulk or general cargo. The full fleet of vessels will be capable of transporting over 10 million tons of goods per year along the Nile by 2015.
As additional vessels enter service, Nile Cargo will increase its annual tonnage hauled for GCSS to 2 million by 2012.
zawya.com
