Financial Close - 6th October Dry Port PPP, Cairo

Rendel has been working since 2015 with a consortium led by Mazars Ltd to provide technical assistance for the creation of a Value-Added Logistics Centre (Dry Port) near the 6th October City, west of Cairo. It is planned for the Dry Port to be connected by rail to the Port of El Dekheila and the Great Port of Alexandria (GPA) container hub. The Dry Port is planned to be the centre of a state-of-the-art facility which will combine all types of logistics/warehousing activities (refrigerated stores, bonded and non-bonded warehouses, etc.) and will allow the transfer of part of the container traffic transiting the Port of El Dekheila and the Great Port of Alexandria to the Dry Port for customs clearance and thus relieve congestion and reduce other negative environmental and social externalities linked to the present movement of this traffic by road vehicles with savings of over 14 million litres of diesel and 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year. This is in addition to creating economies of scale by using intermodal rail services to/from the seaports, to improve the overall reliability and cost-efficiency of the logistics processes of the dry port’s future clients.

With financial close reached in July 2021, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the project through provision of a senior loan of up to USD 29.6 million (EUR 25 million) in favour of October Dry Port Company, a joint-stock company established in Egypt. The proposed loan is part of a total investment package of USD 60 million to finance the design, development, construction and operation and maintenance of the Dry Port, being the first land dry port in Egypt. The Project will be the City's "trigger investment" under EBRD Green Cities Framework 2 Window 2 formally initiating 6th of October's participation in the programme and enabling the start of the development of the Green City Action Plan with the New Urban Communities Authority.

Rendel and Ingérop provided technical assistance throughout the project development till Commercial Close in preparation of the :

1. Traffic Review Study and Traffic Demand Study - to forecast likely use of the dry port for several types of container traffic and likely throughput of containerised cargo transiting the dry port
2. Traffic Impact Study and Port Operations study within the Dry Port Area based on traffic forecasts
3. Technical Design - including pavement, specifications, preliminary design including layouts of cargo handlings systems equipment, customs and operations, power requirements and sustainable energy and efficiency
4. Specifications - technical lead for specifications in the PPP procurement including cost estimates for civil works, cargo handling equipment, manpower and maintenance
5. Review of railway operations