The Transport Ministry has denied that a consortium of construction firms Hassan Allam and Samcrete has been awarded the contract to build and operate the USD 100 mn 6 October dry port. The local press had claimed Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir reportedly said the consortium had been tapped for the 100-feddan project, which will comprise cargo zones, customs clearance offices, and multipurpose storage facilities linked to key seaports, and will be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework. We noted in June that the Finance Ministry’s PPP unit began accepting offers from several qualified consortiums in July. The qualified consortiums, according to the statement the ministry issued then, did not include Samcrete.

Clarified on 11 September 2019

An earlier version of this story had said that the Hassan Allam-Samcrete consortium was awarded the contract. The Transport Ministry has denied that the consortium was awarded the contract, saying in a statement later in the day that “the project’s technical offers are still under review.”