Your company is the leading transportation group of companies in Sudan, and also the most diversified. What main areas are you now focusing on?
The main area we are focusing on nowadays is transporting crude oil from some production areas to some others that are not connected because there is no pipeline built. That's our main focus nowadays, and it might represent 70% to 80% from Port Sudan area to different cities in the country. We cannot say we are focusing on one kind of transport business but we usually win some tenders and we work on these tenders.
What is your involvement in the pipeline?
In the pipeline project we mainly provide the transport of the pipe itself from the port to the bending plans and then to the pipeline route, and we did that for about 1500 kilometers; we did that in 11 months although the estimated time for that was 16 to 18 months.
In order to be able to complete the project in that time, you also acquired heavy machinery. What is the use given to these machinery?
In order to facilitate the pipeline project, we brought cranes, earth moving equipment like bulldozers, loaders, and excavator. Then we established a new company for earth moving equipment. We call it Elnourus Petroleum and it is now working fine. We have been dispatching this equipment to different areas, like for example we rented excavators to Elgezira to open or to clean water lines. We also assisted Sudatel that is making new lines in different areas in Sudan. Coming back to the pipeline project, we imported almost 200 trucks to support our own trucks, and when the pipeline project finished we thought about working in the area; so, almost two years ago we established a company in Djibouti because it is the only port between Ethiopia and Eritrea and when the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea took place they really didn't have any borders so they started to use Djibouti port. So we started our company over there with a transfer of almost 120 trucks from here to Djibouti and we did a very good work between Djibouti and Ethiopia for the last one and half year. Mainly we worked with UN organization with the WFP (World Food Program). We transferred relief food from Djibouti to Ethiopia, and at the same time when we found out that this project was very good we gave another small hold trucks 15 to 20 tons to transport these goods from the warehouses to different small villages in Ethiopia.
How present are you in Chad?
In Chad the project is similar to the one here. It is also related to oil and the pipeline; so, we also established an office almost two years ago. We bet on our own on that project and we own it. We are going to start working on the transportation of this area on the second week of August of this year, because it is very difficult to establish something from the beginning in a new country, and we already have been here for a long time
Egypt is a more competitive market. Do you think you can also benefit from that market in the area of transportation?
No, in Egypt it is a little bit difficult because even if we are 7 brothers none of us can go there and stay for a long period. In the transport business you have to be very close to it, you have to follow it very close not like other projects like agriculture, construction. In anything like that you can depend on others but in transport business you have to be there by your own. For the short term projects of 1 and a half, 2 years, we can do it but to establish a company in Egypt is gonna be difficult. That's why we started in Egypt long time ago with livestock trade, camels, cattles and things like that, and in the early nineties we started this retail trading company here in Sudan and we found that it was a very successful business and we could do it in the neighbouring country because they were looking for an agent in Egypt and they recommended us to go and start there. We did the feasibility study of course and we started the project I think in 92 or 93.
What is the contribution of Elnourus transportation to the Group total turnover?
It represents more than 50% of the group turnover. The others transport companies we have in Ethiopia and Djibouti have their own names and are separate different entities. Once they complete their projects they will be back and will join Elnourus. So Elnourus is growing this way. Back in '91 we conducted a very big project in the Middle East also for transporting relief food. It was over 150 truck operated and when we finished that project all these trucks joined Elnourus, so that is how Elnourus is growing bigger and bigger. And also when we started this pipeline project we had to buy over 200 trucks of different range,which are now here. So Elnourus is the biggest of the group.
Could you give us some figures as far as the number of employees in the whole group, and your present turnover?
We have over 500 employees.The other entities don't have more than 350 people. They could even be below that number because presently 20 to 25% of our trucks are stopped. At the time of the pipeline project we had almost 800 employees because we had a lot of drivers, almost 2 drivers for each truck. In the transport business we also need to have a lot of mechanics following up not like the other companies For example at Elnefeide motors they don't need to have this number of employees. They have workshops with no more than 70 employees.
| How do you view your involvement in infrastructure development?
We actually already made some connections in this area. For building roads, specially highways, we don't have that much experience but we have some equipment for it right now. We made some contacts with some big companies who are building roads in the Middle East area because they are more familiar with the weather and the different seasons. We are thinking to enter that area and we made our study and we are almost 80% ready for it and we are just waiting for the tenders.
What are your specific interests in holding some equities in other companies?
The most interesting one is the new Khartoum terminal, that's the only project we did as shareholders with the government. The idea just emerged when we started our new bus company called Gandala, and when we thought that we had to make something different than the others bus transports, to build terminal and to make it more professional. Not just like the area where the buses now stop to take passengers to different cities. Then when we went to get some permissions for that and we have our drawings, the government people start thinking in the same way. I think this kind of initiatives will make more competitive the country and will provide more services to the people while encouraging them to use the bus. Right now, Sudanese hate to take the bus even tough they are more accurate than our airlines. However, the idea of stopping in some check points and taking all the luggage up and down is too much hassle. People prefer to stay 2 or 3 hours in the airport rather than to go and check their luggage every 200 kilometers. For example if you are going to Port Sudan they check your luggage 3 times in different cities.
When do you expect the project to be completed?
I'm not following that project very close but it would be finished some time by the beginning of next year.
You have been named recently Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Thailand. What does it represent for you personally to be the honorary consul of Thailand, a country with which you and your company have had and still have close economic ties during the last 6 years?
Actually as one of Elnefeidi family we are very far from the political and diplomatic sphere; we reactivated these ties when we had this project in Ethiopia and Djibouti and we have to be very close from some ambassadors abroad.
What investment opportunities do you see between Thailand and Soudan?
In that area I think we will aim mainly in holidays and something like that, more than to deal business between Thailand and Sudan.We know and even the Thai people know that it is very difficult for the Sudanese to enter the Thai market because the Chinese are already here in Sudan and they are taking almost 80% of the shares of the market and you can not compete with them. They are very aggressive. If we say we can make a big share it is not going to be true. What we believe is that we just want to introduce Thailand to the Sudanese first. It is very difficult even for the Thai to come and do something here in Sudan, but we are willing to develop this business trade. For example, they have a fair next September in Cairo, so we can convince some Sudanese businessmen to go and visit that fair, so it will be like an introduction for them to Thailand and from there we can start some kind of business. For the time being the Thai people are not interested to enter the Sudanese market. Still they are not feeling that they understand the investment, still they are not confident that the country is very safe, so may be within the next 2 or 3 years, it will be a matter of time of course, because Sudan is still virgin and there is a lot of activities they can do in Sudan.
How comfortable do you feel when dealing with Asian investors?
With the Chinese so far we have a very good experience with them. They are very hard workers so we feel very comfortable with them. With the Malaysian we didn't have any direct contacts with them since they came into this country, but we have very good relations with the Chinese and of course they have been here for a long, long time not just for the pipeline project. They did a lot of things to Sudan.
Note: World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
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