Interview of the week - EGL - Egypt

Medhat is a civil engineer. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering in Alexandria in 1984. He worked as an engineer for a couple of years before joining the company.

He is a member of the Baltic Exchange, BIMCO, FONASBA, IATA and FIATA. Presently he is the chairman of the Egyptian Freight Forwarders Association, a board member of the Alexandria Chamber of Shipping, treasurer of the Alexandria Business Association and a board member of the Land and Maritime Transport Holding Co. which owns 4 container terminals, stevedoring companies and about 40 companies operating in public freight, passenger and sea transport in Egypt.

Medhat is also a member of the Egyptian Ports Planning Team and the National Railway Privatization Planning Team in Egypt, as well as serving as a consultant and main speaker in the field of maritime and logistics in the region.

Tell us about EGL. Who owns the company? 

EGL was established in 1999, following the success story of the parent company Kadmar Shipping Co. founded in 1983 by my father and my role model Admiral Mahmoud Hatem El Kady. The group started with 4 employees and currently we have over 400 people working within our Group.

Admiral El Kady is a well-known figure in the maritime industry in Egypt and the Middle East. He is the chairman of the Arab Federation of Chambers of Shipping, as well as the founder of the Alexandria and Egyptian Chambers of Shipping.

Where are your offices located?

• Egypt: Alexandria, El Dekheila , Abu Qir , Cairo, Cairo airport, Suez , Adabiya,  Sokhna, Port Said, Damietta and Safaga
• Tunis: Sousse

Which is EGL's specialty and service range?

The best thing about EGL is that we have diverse experience in all sectors related to logistics such as sea freight (containers and general cargo), air freight, customs clearance, trucking and specialized transportation of heavy cargo and ODC.

Our competitive advantage is that we have many years of experience in shipping, we are equipment owners and we own more than 100,000 sq.m of warehouses in Egypt.

Main areas of activity:

• Energy (Power – renewable)
• Oil and Gas
• Petrochemical
• Industry
• Rolling Stock

Tell us a few words about your experience, your expertise and your business in general.

Our business consists of:

Kadmar Shipping Co., which is the shipping agency, ship broker and stevedoring company of the Group and acts as a liner agent to HMM, Empros Lines, Orient Asia Lines.

EGL is the freight forwarding arm of the Group dealing with sea and air freight. We own a trucking company operating 100 trucks in Egypt. Our Project Cargo Department owns and operates hydraulic modular trailers, the newest in the market, telescopic trailers, jacking and skidding. Our Engineering Department is also very strong.

We also own and operate over 100,000 square meters of bonded and non-bonded warehouses and have our own customs brokers. 

EGL is the largest local freight forwarder in Egypt. Together with Kadmar and THLG members we form the strongest project cargo forwarder in Egypt as we handle door-to-door transportation including ex. work, sea freight, unloading and delivery.

Tell us about projects that you have handled recently.

TSO/KSA – Orascom, Egypt Overseas Door-to-Door Locomotive Projects. 

Project Details:

• Total CBM 4,300 (Two Separate shipments)
• Cargo Type Locomotive Diesel, Tamping Machine, Hopper Wagon & Wagon Flat
• POL El-Dammam – KSA , POD Adabiya – EGYPT

Scope of Work in KSA

• Nomination of a reliable partner in KSA to handle origin service
• Route and site survey
• Supply of cranes for site with loading capacity of up to 450 tons
• In-land transportation from 3 different sites to the loading port
• Port handling, customs clearance and stevedoring

Charting scope:  Hire geared vessel

Scope of Work in Egypt

• Vessel berthing arrangement in coordination with Kadmar Shipping Co. (ship agent)
• Route and site survey
• Port handling, customs clearance and stevedoring
• Obtaining all permits needed to get road permits from utility services, especially from the Road and Bridges Authority, as EGL succeeded to get consultant report to cross El Moneib River Nile bridge with a total weight of 180 tons
• In-land transportations from the arrival port to the final destinations

Which are the main industries served in Egypt?

Power generation, petrochemical, petroleum, general cargo, and food stuff.

Which are the main ports used for serving breakbulk project cargo in Egypt?

Adabiya for Asia and the Far East inbound cargoes to the eastern part of the Nile.

Alexandria for the cargoes of upto 120 tons.

El Dekheila for units over 129 tons in the western part of the Nile.

Is special transport a competitive sector in Egypt? How do you ensure that you will stand out?

EGL is believed to have the newest fleet in the area as well as an engineering know-how department, along with a very strong marketing team.

What made you join the industry?

Following our government general trend in infrastructure projects, construction, mega and solar power plants, power substations, oil and gas projects, Kadmar Group top management realizes that we must be ready any time to meet market demand (especially in the heavy lift transportation).


That’s the reason that EGL joined the heavy lift industry and owns the newest equipment in Egypt.

What do you like the most about your business?

• Challenges
• Engineering innovations
• Team spirit
• Connections with utilities
• Manpower and equipment planning

Who should be approached in EGL for inquiries?

• Eng. Medhat El Kady (medhat@kadmar.com)
• Mr. Ahmed Youssif (ahmed.youssif@eglegypt.com)
• Mr. Islam Ebeidy (islam@eglegypt.com)
• Mr. Mohamed El Kady (melkady@eglegypt.com)