Dubai: DP World has launched Egypt’s first fully integrated logistics distribution centre at Sokhna Logistics Park, giving global companies a single hub to serve Egypt, Africa, the Gulf and Europe.The new centre is located next to Sokhna Port within the Suez Canal Economic Zone, placing it along one of the world’s busiest trade corridors. It brings together freight forwarding, port services, warehousing, inventory management, customs facilitation, order fulfilment, and transport coordination on a single platform.The launch was attended by Egypt’s Prime Minister, Dr Mostafa Madbouly, senior government officials, and representatives of international companies. It also coincided with Essa Kazim's first visit to Egypt since he became Chairman of DP World.The first three customer agreements were signed at the launch, giving the facility an immediate commercial start.Faster access to key marketsDP World said the logistics distribution centre will allow companies to hold stock closer to end customers, cut delivery times and manage supply chains more efficiently from a single location.The centre will also offer value-added services such as assembly, packaging, repackaging, labelling and product customisation. Companies will be able to retain ownership of inventory until final distribution, giving them greater control over stock and cash flow.First customers signedThe first customers include a Kenya-based tea exporter that handles around 1,000 TEUs annually into Egypt and plans to use the facility as a regional inventory hub for distribution across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.A major consumer goods distributor will use the centre to support operations across eight markets covering Saudi Arabia, the Levant and the Horn of Africa. A dedicated temperature-controlled facility within Sokhna Logistics Park will back its operations.A German multinational company specialising in fibre-optic cables and digital infrastructure will also use the logistics centre to strengthen its distribution and re-export activities across Egypt, North Africa and the GCC markets.More than $1.4 billion investedDP World has invested more than $1.4 billion in logistics infrastructure across Egypt, including the expansion and modernisation of Sokhna Port, the development of Sokhna Logistics Park and a cold chain facility that is currently under development.The company said the wider network, supported by its freight forwarding, contract logistics and supply chain services, will help businesses reduce costs, strengthen export competitiveness and move goods more smoothly across regional and global markets.Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, where she spends her days unpacking money, markets, aviation, and the big shifts shaping life in the Gulf. Before returning to Gulf News, she launched Finance Middle East, complete with a podcast and video series.