(Photo from Aramex website)
By Mohamed Alaa Eldin and Menna Samir
Aramex, a transportation and logistics company, has yet to reach an agreement with the Egyptian government to set up a railway line to transport shipments across different governorates. Aramex had presented officials with the National Authority for Railways and the Ministry of Transport with the plan months ago, but the company never received responses from officials , according to the company’s Egypt and Africa Manager Samer Gharaibeh.
Aramex offered to bear infrastructure costs associated with the railway line as well as the technology supplied to it said Gharaibeh, adding that he considers this a means of reducing transportation costs and ensuring products are delivered to clients on time. Gharaibeh claimed that project would also reduce pressure on roads and main streets in Cairo and other governorates.
Gharaibeh also said on the sidelines of the entrepreneurial Rise Up Summit held at the American University in Cairo that Aramex has begun expanding its storage capacity by adding 10,000m2 to its total warehouse space of 106,000m2, to be completed during the coming months.
Aramex claims that investments allocated toward expanding storage space will increase job opportunities in the Egyptian market. Aramex Egypt has more than 1,800 employees, representing more than 10% of total Aramex employees across the world, according to the statement. Aramex’s investments in Egypt amounted to EGP 183m over the past two years.
Aramex began its work in 1982 in Jordan as an international transport company. In 1997 Aramex was the first company in the Arab world to offer its shares for trading on the NASDAQ in New York. In 2002, Aramex became private again. In June 2005, Aramex offered its shares in the Dubai financial market under the name “Arab International Logistics Company” (Aramex).
