| المستخلص: |
Greater attention has been given to trade costs in both the empirical trade literature and in theoretical models of international trade in recent years, with interest increasingly being directed towards the role of no policy barriers such as transport costs. However, if distance is a proxy for transport and other trade costs, then the true effect of transport costs is impossible to determine. We attempt to remedy this by utilizing the newly compiled project of Suez Canal for Economic Co-operation and Development Maritime Transport Cost as a whole and the most important element of it, which is port efficiency. The dredging projects in the Suez Canal, the intention for the creation of new terminals in Asia and Europe are only some of the actions taken already for the shift to the new era. However, as it is very common in the history of technology and engineering achievements, many suggest that this size of the vessels is going to be the last frontier of their physical expansion, not because of technical restrictions and limits but because of the achieved economies of scale. Recent literature has emphasized the importance of transport costs and infrastructure in explaining trade, access to markets, and increases in per capita income. For most, transport costs are a greater barrier to markets than import tariffs. Distance, volumes, and product characteristics all matter. In addition, the researcher fined that port efficiency is an important determinant of shipping costs. Improving port efficiency from the 25th to the 75th percentile reduces shipping costs by 12%. Bad ports are equivalent to being 60% farther away from markets for the average country. Inefficient ports also increase handling costs, which are one of the components of shipping costs. In turn, factors explaining variations in port efficiency include excessive regulation, the prevalence of organized crime, and the general condition of the country's infrastructure. Reductions in country inefficiencies, associated to transport costs, from the 25th to 75th percentiles imply an increase in bilateral trade of around 25%. Therefore, this research will examine most of the factors affecting Egypt's port efficiency to stand as a pivot of trade in the Mediterranean routes, highlighting the strategy that can achieve the future prospect of Egypt's ports or one of them as logistics center. This will turn many benefits to Egypt's Economy and establishing new projects in the region also attract investors to invest in many activities related to that.
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