Egypt is seeking to influence 50 percent of the world’s wheat trade and 20 percent of the international grain exchange through the logistic center it plans at the province of Damietta, the government said.
A number of companies have expressed investment interests in the grain exchange and logistics hub which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had declared to be established in Delta province, Supply and Internal Trade Minister Khaled Hanafy told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
The project, Hanafy predicts, will turn Egypt from a mere grains importer to a world hub for their exchange and manufacturing. Finances for the undertaking, estimated by LE15 billion, will be drawn from both local and international sources, targeting the exchange of an annual 65 million tons.
According to the minister, the project could return Egypt into the shipbuilding business, noting that the current 33 vessels available for the project are not sufficient. It also provide tens of thousands of work opportunities, he added.
The grain center will host industrial zones working in the production of quality flour, soya beans, oils, fodder and sugar refinement.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
