Egypt is preparing to tender the second phase of its public-private partnership (PPP) strategic warehouses project comprising of three food warehouses in three governorates at a total cost of $160 million.

The warehouses are being procured under Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain and Transfer (DBFPMT) model for a period of 25 years with the Internal Trade Development Authority under the Ministry of Supply and International Trade acting as the off-taker.

The project involves development of seven warehouses in seven governorates to store 25 basic food commodities in dry, cold and frozen modes, according to a statement issued by State Information Service (SIS) in February 2024.

Atter Hannoura, Director, PPP Central Unit, Ministry of Finance said the project aims to build state-of-the-art warehouses of up to 75,000 pallets capacity each to secure the supply of basic commodities for six months and reduce the losses from handling.

Speaking at PPP MENA Forum in Dubai on Tuesday, he said three out of the four warehouses in the first phase have been awarded and financial close achieved.

“They are under construction and will come into service next year,” he disclosed.

Phase 1 covered the governorates of Suez, Fayoum, Luxor and Sharqia, while Phase 2 will cover Greater Cairo, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Ismailia.

While the tendering timeline wasn’t announced, Hannoura had, during his speech, said these are part of a broader pipeline of PPP projects slated to be tendered within the next 12 to 18 months.

He also disclosed that the PPP unit is working with the Ministry to procure six wholesale markets in different governorates through the DBFOMT route. The concession period is for 25 years.

“These will be state-of-the-art markets based on advanced technologies and also include facilities like banks, hospitals, packaging services and a wholesale mall,” he explained.

The finance ministry’s presentation noted that feasibility studies are underway and a pilot project is planned to be implemented in Ismailia governorate over an area of 100 feddans. The investment cost is yet to be finalised.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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