Assessing the Role of Damietta Port as a Logistic Hub: An Analytical Analysis

Based on extensive literature, we assume efficient performance entails developing a new framework that includes a discussion of several aspects and visions based on multiple criteria that show the level and functions within its scope of influence and spatial relations. All agreed on a comprehensive evaluation together to achieve effective performance. We will use a matrix to collect all the criteria and their indicators and measure them. Those that can assess Damietta Port's ability as a logistics hub, identification of its shortcomings, and determination of development priorities. Other logistic center types and duplicate criteria have been excluded since we are targeting only logistics hubs. The three dimensions form three groups. Each of them consists of indicators that will be measured statistically based on the reports of official authorities, all of which are legal, such as (features of future planning for Damietta Governorate 2032 - General Authority for urban Planning & Trends in Egyptian exports 2020 - Ministry of Trade and Industry & Movement of Egyptian sea ports - Maritime Transport Sector at the Ministry of Transport 2021 & Population Census - Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics).

The method is applied in four steps: 1) study area characterization: to know the character, the location of the port and its spatial relationships; 2) define criteria and data collection: Projecting the various standards that were formulated from the literature on Damietta Port with the aim of identifying the port’s character in terms of its various capabilities, as well as the shortage that will need intervention and development, in light of the targeted standards and the goal of the study in order to evaluate Damietta Port through comprehensive standards; 3) Evaluation of indicators: by Indicators value from the official statistics reports the data are analyzed statistically and using the graphical representations whenever possible; and 4) The results Figure 7 shows that.

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Figure 7. The framework for measuring efficient performance for Damietta Port as a logistical hub

2.1 Study area

Location: Damietta Port is located 40 km west of the mouth of the Damietta branch on the Mediterranean Sea. It is 70 km away from Port Said Port, and it is subject to the Damietta Port Authority. It is a major port for exporting products and importing raw materials and brands. It has 28 berths with a length of 6,600 meters and a depth of 15 meters. Damietta Port Authority ranked third in ship frequencies in 2021. The Damietta Port Authority has recently restored river transport unit movement across the Nile River in a project with the National Nile River Transport Company [17].

The port component: The port contains a channel 11.4 km long and 300 meters wide, gradually decreasing until it reaches 250 meters at the breakwater with a depth of 15 meters. The channel is bordered by 18 buoys (buoys) lit at night [18].

It contains the sandal channel, which consists of two parts. One is 1350 meter long, connecting the barge basin with the sea. The second is 3750 meters long, connecting the basin with the Nile branch. The barge basin area is (250 * 250) meters and is equipped with a berth of 250 meters in length, and the water depth is 5 meters, and the diameter of the basin is the turn is 500 meters, and its depth is 14.5 meters in front of the container berth, and its depth is 12 meters in front of the general cargo berth [18].

2.2 Define criteria for data collection

Existing areas and future extensions: The port facilities cover an area of 11.8 square kilometers, while the current water surface area is 3.9 million square meters and will increase in the future to 4.3 million square meters, while the current land surface area is 7.9 million square meters and will increase in the future to 8.6 million square meters. The following (Table 3) shows the distribution of the port elements areas according to data from the Maritime Transport Authority [18].

Table 3. The distribution of the areas

Logistics and river transport capabilities: The port includes logistical components such as handling at 96 points for refrigerator containers, 10 rail-mounted cranes, 10-yard cranes, all vertical loading cranes, forklifts, and trailers. In addition, a navigational channel links the port with the Nile River, with a length of 5.4 kilometers and a width of 90 meters. And a depth of up to five meters. The maximum design capacity is 19.75 million tons per year. The following Table 4 shows the maximum capacity for different types of flow. The port has 19 berths of different lengths. Table 5 shows the patterns used by port berths [18].

Table 4. The maximum capacity for different types of flows

Table 5. The maximum capacity for different types of flows

There is also a container terminal at the port. It is one of the most prestigious terminals in the region. There are four container berths with a length of 1050 meters and a depth of 14.5 meters. It occupies an area of 465 thousand square meters, with an area of approximately 800 thousand square meters for future expansion. The port container terminal is equipped with 10 cranes, and the terminal is handled by a team of professionals. It was provided with an information system that helps plan and monitor yards, ships, railways, and container handling equipment. A cost estimate for its development has also been compiled. With 600 million pounds, a memorandum of understanding was signed with German operator Euro Gate in September 2019. This was followed by investment costs of 750 million euros to develop the second container terminal at the port.

There was an area for storage and frozen goods of 3,000 square meters, another area for wood, steel, and foodstuffs of 3,000 square meters, and a port that also contained a grain city, with berths 600 meters long and 14.5 meters deep, a silo with a capacity of 150,000 tons annually, and a shed for statistics with an area of five thousand meters, with a daily capacity of three thousand tons.

The free zone in the port, an area of 798 thousand square meters for industrial printing and storage, exports without a tariff. In addition, it includes the construction of the investors' building, which includes all investment activities in the port. This is on an area of 60357 square meters, with 235 administrative units.

Cooperation took place between the Ministry of Transport and the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces to create multi-purpose berths with a length of 680 meters, with a rear trading yard of 70,000 square meters and a warehouse for storing goods with an area of 5,000 square meters, with a handling capacity of 3.4 million tons annually, and a storage capacity of 4 million tons annually.

Multimodality: The main port relates to the national network, with a land and road network being developed. Damietta Governorate is continuing development work in this regard (February 2022), where the port road, which is 2.5 km long, will be duplicated and upgraded, starting from the Al-Sananiyya passage area until the port's outbound gate, which is being implemented through the Public Authority for Roads and Bridges after its inclusion in the Ministry of Transport's plan, to raise its efficiency and pave it with concrete slabs.

Development plan: As for the investment opportunities in the port of Damietta (see Figure 8), they were as follows [17].

· Grain industries zone 108,000 meters square

· Agarin terminal 2700000 meters square

· Logistic area 6000 meters square

· The second container terminal has 4.5 million equivalent units

· Multipurpose terminal (Tahia Misr 2)

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Figure 8. The investment opportunities in the port of Damietta

Added value: There were added value industries related to grain and petrochemical, so they settled in complementary areas (see Figure 9). One is located in the grain industries zone, while the other is in the petrochemical complex.

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Figure 9. The land use of Damietta Port

International flows: The exports are varied, such as vegetables (parsley, frozen okra, artichokes, potatoes, yams, frozen mixed vegetables), agricultural crops (peanuts, garlic, basil, herbs, olives, alfalfa, onions, lemon, caraway), and fruits. Including orange, strawberry, tangerine). Imports were also concentrated on scrap goods, corn, soybeans, and oven slag. While exports were concentrated on liquefied gas, fertilizers, and molasses [17]. Many external flows in Europe and Asia reach 3500 KM, such as Emirates, Jordan, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Greece, Pakistan, America, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, and Malta (see Figure 10). The port can export to seven international markets, which are the most significant markets for Egypt according to 2021 statistics [19] Table 6 (see Figure 11). These markets are in Europe, Africa, and Asia, which means that Egypt can take advantage of the geographical proximity of these countries to export its goods. Additionally, the port has the capacity to handle large shipments, which provides an efficient and cost-effective way of transporting goods to these markets.

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Figure 10. The international flow coverage to Damietta Port

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Figure 11. The important export markets for Egypt 2020

The port’s performance decreased in 2021 compared to 2020, regarding the total frequency of ships (8%), which is less than the average of the Republic (10%), while the performance developed in Total cargo (million tons) at a growth rate of 16%, which is 12% higher than the average of the Republic. And the growth rate decreased in relation to the number of containers with a growth rate of total containers (million TEU) of -6%, which is lower than the rate of the Republic by -4% [17] (Table 7). The decrease in the frequency of ships can be attributed to the restrictions implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected maritime transportation globally. The decrease in the growth rate of total containers is likely due to the decrease in the frequency of ships, as fewer ships mean fewer containers.

The Damietta Port Authority is ranked third in relation to Egyptian ports. It was the penultimate with 23% of the total ship frequencies, where the largest share was in favor of the General Authority of Alexandria Port with 35%, followed by the ports of the economic zone with 29%, and finally the Red Sea Ports Authority with 13%, respectively [17] (Figure 12).

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Figure 12. Percentages of ship frequencies in Egypt 2021

The volume of imported goods amounted to 19,759.3 thousand tons (51.98%), while the exported amount was 18,257 thousand tons (48.02%). The largest share was dry bulk 51.28%, then general goods 19.51%, then transit 16.28%, and finally pour liquid 1.75% [17] (see Figures 13 and 14), Table 8 shows the volume of Goods handling in Damietta Port.

During 2021, Egyptian ports processed nearly 7.2 million containers, compared to 7.6 million containers in 2020 (which reflects the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis). The largest share was in favor of the ports affiliated with the economic zone, which includes “East, West Port Said, and Sokhna,” with handling 4.8 million containers, equivalent to 66% of the total containers handled in Egyptian ports. Followed by the Alexandria Port Authority with a percentage of 20%, and finally the Damietta Port Authority with a percentage of 14% [17] (see Figures 15), Table 9 shows the Percentages of containers in Damietta Port 2021.

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Figure 13. Percentages of flow in Damietta Port 2021

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Figure 14. Distributions of flow in Damietta Port 2021

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Figure 15. Percentages of containers in Damietta Port 2021

Internal flows: It means all goods and materials that are delivered from neighboring areas inside the country to the port. The main point in determining the scope of the internal flow of the port of Damietta is achieving the lowest logistical cost, of which the cost of transportation is considered one of them. In addition, there are guidelines received from the workshops of the Egyptian Ministry of Transport. So, when looking at the map of Egypt, it becomes clear that the governorates of Lower Egypt in the Delta will depend on the ports of the Mediterranean. Provided that the least distance must be traveled when the port specializes in the type of merchandise to be exported. As for the governorates of Upper Egypt, they will be dealt with by the ports of the Red Sea. This is considering the current state’s directions regarding the transverse linking of the governorates of Upper Egypt with the ports of the Red Sea.

Table 6. The most important export markets for Egypt

Table 7. Performance indicators (2020-2021) for Damietta Port

Table 8. Goods handling in Damietta Port

Table 9. Percentages of containers in Damietta Port 2021

The following centers are located within the scope of Damietta Port: All centers within both the Dakahlia and Damietta Governorates, and each of the centers (Faqous - Abu Kabeer - Ibrahimia - Darb Najm) in Sharkia Governorate, and both centers (Aga - Samanoud Al-Mahalla Al-Kubra) in Gharbia Governorate, and centers (Hamol - Riyadh - Pella - Kafr El-Sheikh) in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, because they are located within 100 km from the port of Damietta. The rest of the Sharkia governorate centers (Zagazig - Minya El-Qamh - Belbeis) are included within the range, because Damietta's port is closer to it than any other port, so it is the most logical choice for transportation (Figure 16).

Multimodal: It means the possibility of using more than one type of transportation, such as two or more means.The port of Damietta is connected to a wide multimodal network that connects with the governorates of the Delta, the multi-modal is presented in three modes, first of all, the river transport by the Damietta branch through Damietta river port which is located inside the Damietta seaport in proximity to the grain terminal; secondly, the railways specialized in goods transport and linked to the port with a single line, as well as the highways where the international coastal road, in addintion to the Damietta-Egypt road (Damietta-Cairo highway), which connects Damietta with Kafr Saad, Sherbin, Talkha, and Mahalla...to Cairo (see Figure 17) [20, 21].

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Figure 16. The scope of internal flow of Damietta Port

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Figure 17. The multimodal of Damietta Port

Projects under implementation: On 3/28/2022, the Parliament Transport Committee approved a project to develop the Tanta-Mansoura-Damietta railway line, with a length of 119 km, linking the city of Tanta, which has a population of 700,000 people and is located 100 km north of Cairo, with the coastal city of Damietta on the Mediterranean coast, which has a population of one million and passes through Mansoura, which has a population of about 2 million people in the Nile Delta. The first part of the corridor between Tanta and Mansoura is a double-track line that is not electrified, while the second part between Mansoura and Damietta is a single-track line that is not electrified. Railway signaling has 2 sections including many junctions. Both sections support mixed passenger/goods traffic, with the first section using 56 trains per day (52 passengers, 4 freight), and the second with 32 trains per day (28 passengers and 4 freight) [22].

Rehabilitation and training of human resources: Damietta Port Authority obtained a grant from the European Union, to train 582 employees to work in seaports, and the duration of the project is 3 years. The project aims to improve the skills of employees and equip them with the necessary knowledge to handle the increasing demand for the port. The training will include courses on port operations, logistics, customs procedures, and marine regulations. Additionally, the project focuses on modernizing the port infrastructure and introducing modern technologies to increase efficiency. In the field of social participation, the Authority trained 350 trainees from young graduates, 750 university students [17].

Preserving the environment: The Damietta Port Authority used solar power plants to generate electric power in the port, and most of the cars in both the maritime transport sector and the Damietta Port Authority were converted to natural gas [17]. By doing so, the Damietta Port Authority was able to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. This is a crucial step in preserving the environment and combating climate change. The Damietta Port Authority has also implemented a variety of initiatives to reduce energy consumption, such as renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency measures. These initiatives have helped to reduce the environmental impact of the port and have set an example for other ports to follow.

Customs and fees: There is a customs department in Damietta Port run by the Central Customs Administration of Damietta. It follows the eastern region of the Customs Operations Sector of the Egyptian Customs Authority. About fees, there are many sections of fees paid at Damietta Port, for example, usufruct of land, use of the platform, cargo services, ship services, licenses granted to practice maritime transport work, providing specialized labor inside Damietta Port, Using the square meters in the investor complex, cleaning work [21].

Electronic connectivity to customs services: Damietta Port operates electronically and links all port services, such as customs and control of exports and imports, which enables these parties to exchange information related to the operations of transporting, loading, and unloading goods, and customs clearance of goods [17].

As a conclusion to this section, Damietta Port possesses comprehensive logistical capability as well as the ability to deal with goods and materials internally as well as externally through the use of a multimodal transport system. Moreover, the port is connected to an electronic network for customs clearance that enables customs clearance to be performed through one point of contact for all devices and sectors at the port. Aside from that, the state also rehabilitates and trains its human resources to be able to deal with problems efficiently. In addition, Damietta Port maintains a high level of environmental protection, uses renewable energy sources, and minimizes its carbon footprint as much as possible.

2.3 Evaluation of indicators

Indicators can be evaluated by grouping the three factors (level factors, function factors, and spatial factors) to form a comprehensive evaluation matrix. Accordingly, some examples that assess the logistic hub can be inferred, and they demonstrate that criteria can be collected by a matrix and given a rating to them [13]. The evaluation matrix can then be used to determine the efficiency of the logistic hub. If the results of the evaluation matrix are positive, the logistic hub can be considered a success and able to play a logistic hub role. If not, the logistic hub can be improved and specific the priority of development. This can be done by analyzing the results of the evaluation matrix and determining areas for improvement. This may involve additional training, resources, or infrastructure…etc.

The evaluation criteria for Damietta Port as a logistics hub can be deduced by mixing the previous criteria and the dimensions into a group of criteria.

First group-Level factors: The logistical level was determined by identifying the criteria through which the logistics facility's role is determined. This includes the extent to which interactions continue and to what extent flows can be applied by covering the geographical area. A group of 6 indicators is included in this group (Geographical coverage, modes and corridors of transport, third-party logistics services, government and commercial services, customs fees, and proximity to markets). Each of these six indicators assesses different aspects of the logistical process. Geographical coverage looks at the range of areas a facility covers. Transport modes and corridors examine the various types of transport used to reach specific areas. Third-party logistics services look at outside services, such as warehousing and delivery. Commercial and public services examine the presence of services that can be used for business or personal needs. Customs and fees assess the cost of doing business across different regions. Finally, proximity to the market is examined at the distance to the last or semi-final customer.

Second group-Function factors: Define the function and tasks of the logistic center and the availability of the elements for the success of this function. This group of criteria focuses on identifying the type of logistics facility. To complete logistic facility tasks and jobs. And a total of 5 indicators constitute this group (port capacity, supply of the required flows, labor supply, add value, level of technology). Port capacity determines the size of the facility and its ability to complete tasks. Labor supply and add value are also significant indicators, as they determine the availability of skilled labor. In addition, they determine the extent to which the facility can add value to the products. Finally, Level of Technology is critical to consider ensuring that the facility is equipped with the latest technology to trace the shipment and complete the tasks.

Third group-Spatial factors: Part of it depends on the previous criteria, whereby the availability of spatial requirements that provide the success of the function of the logistics facility itself on the one hand, and on the other hand, the spatial relations with the nodes, the different logistical destinations, and the type of transportation methods required to transfer the flow successfully. All these criteria are necessary to understand the complexity of the logistics system, as well as to understand the type of entanglements within the system. This group consists of 3 indicators (territorial relations, land availability, and government support for development). These indicators are necessary for understanding the system since they provide insight into the various types of relationships between different areas, the amount of land available for development, and the amount of support the government provides to the development of the logistics system. Table 10 shows the Evaluation of Damietta Port's performance indicators as a logistics hub.

Table 10. Evaluation of Damietta Port's performance indicators as a logistics hub

- As a result of this paper, it was possible to reach a conclusion regarding Damietta Port's ability to fulfill its role as a logistics hub, thereby providing us with a solution to the main question of the paper, which revolves around Damietta Port's ability to fulfill its role.

-It is clear that the results of this study are compatible with the literature. This can be attributed to the fact that when using the matrix table, it was possible to create an evaluation framework encompassing multiple dimensions and criteria that could be evaluated to reach the intended results.

- It has been proven that a comprehensive multi-criteria framework can be used to evaluate capabilities with different dimensions, and it is able to reach results, as shown in Botha's [14] study, where he compiled several criteria in a matrix and evaluated them to assess the seaport as a logistics hub based on a several criteria framework.

- Even though the COVID-19 pandemic decreased the frequency and number of ships and containers around the world, it has had the same effect throughout the world, and therefore Damietta Port alone had a negligible impact.

- The limitations that faced the research were the limited technological data on the port's capabilities.

- One of the very decisive conclusions is that the multi-criteria analysis led to the construction of a decision by which the port's capacity is assessed, and therefore the possibility of deploying urban development in the back of the port and its associated cities.

- This study presents the factors and criteria that affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the port as a logistic hub such as: infrastructure, land capacity for future extensions and added value... etc. Port operators, road operators, rail operators, and shippers were not discussed. However, the results showed that a port can serve as a logistic hub with various capabilities.

- This evaluation can be repeated for another Egyptian seaport since the application environment and its impact on the urban environment and development are similar.

- Damietta Port's logistics hub status will have developmental implications for roads and hubs in terms of urban planning and sustainable urban mobility. This is in cities surrounded by seaports. Therefore, this decision will support the master plans of the port cities and their development roles in regional planning. It will also support land uses development and provide new jobs and attract foreign direct investment, enabling it to eliminate unemployment and deal with economic and developmental issues in cities.

- The status of the Damietta logistics hub will impact the surrounding cities in the territorial area. These cities will benefit from improved infrastructure and increased job opportunities. This will achieve economic and social development and promote sustainable urban mobility, thus improving the quality of life for those cities' citizens.

- Furthermore, the environmental impact must be considered in future studies, including carbon dioxide emissions, noise, accidents, and congestion caused by road traffic.

- There could be future research on urban logistics strategies, evaluation of other types of logistics centers, the influence of multimodal operators on logistics hub efficiency, and environmental impacts of port logistics hubs.