‘Let it rust’ did not cause cars accumulation in ports: official

CAIRO - 30 January 2019: Earlier this month, a campaign was launched on social media to boycott car purchases for the hike in their prices. Egypt Today talked to the spokesperson of the Alexandria Port Authority (APA) to know if the number of imported cars had decreased.

Reda al-Ghandour stated that “Let it Rust” campaign had no impact on the number of cars existing at Alexandria and Dekhela ports. “The meantime is the season of cars importation. That is why the number of cars at the ports is higher than the rest of the year,” Ghandour explained.

The spokesperson stated that 70 percent of cars imported by Egypt arrive at the abovementioned ports, and that the annual season extends from September to January. Ghandour revealed that 49,740 cars arrived between November 1 and January 27 with an increase of 26.5 percent than the previous season.

The great majority of those cars received customs clearance so as the remaining ones recorded 4,191.


Imported cars parked in Alexandria port in January 2019 - Egypt Today/Heba Hossam

The spokesperson clarified that importers finish the clearance in a short period of time because they pay different types of fees for every day the car remains in the port.

Ghandour revealed that around 10,000 trucks transport goods into and out of Alexandria port daily. He added that the imports of different types of goods increased this year. The rates vary between 2 and 48 percent.

The authority started to execute certain projects to encompass the annual increase in imported goods, including a multi-storey garage, as storage at the port has almost reached full capacity, Ghandour said.

Egypt Today contacted the spokespeople of the ports of Safaga, Hurghada, Nuweiba, Port Said, Suez Canal, and Damietta to check if any of those ports witnessed accumulation of imported cars. They all denied the rumors saying that the campaign had resulted in the accumulation of imported cars in ports.