Stretching Seaports to Turn Egypt Into A Logistic Hub

CAIRO - 11 August 2023: Egypt possesses 54 seaports, including 18 commercial ones, lying on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Those have been awaiting expansion and upgrade to serve Egypt's purpose to become a logistic hub and to fulfill local needs as well. Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir stated during the inauguration of the Tahya Misr Multipurpose Station at the Port of Alexandria that the Ministry of Transport was implementing 80 projects in ports at a cost of LE 129 billion, in partnership with 100 companies from the private sector.

Alexandria

The government introduced the Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) Multipurpose Station, stretching on 2.5 kilometers, in the Port of Alexandria at a cost of LE9 billion. It consists of three terminals spanning over 0.5 million square meters. One for containers, another for general cargo, while the third is dedicated to vehicles. It is equipped with 32 container cranes and 12 container loaders. Yet, the plan is to make them 71 and 30, respectively, in the future. It is noted that the loading and unloading operations are automated, and that the station possesses 92 electric equipment.

The length of the station's quays is 2,300 meters, enabling it to handle 12-15 million tons of goods per annum and receive 6-7 urtla large container ships at a time, especially that the harbor's depth is 17.5 meters. The station provides 1,500 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs.

The Port of Alexandria got further expanded by introducing Quay 85/3 dedicated to grains and wood with an annual capacity of five million tons. The quay's length is 433 meters, and has a yard extending on 35,000 square meters, with a depth of 15.5 meters.

The government is also introducing Quay 100 at Dekheila Port at a cost of LE3.4 billion, which will increase the port's annual capacity to nine million tons of containers and a million tons of general cargo and grains. The quay extends on 1.8 kilometer, and has a yard spanning over 660,000 square meters, with a length of 18 meters. A contract was signed with Hutchison Ports Co. and international shipping companies COSCO, MSC, and CMA to manage and operate the terminal.

Another major in-progress project at Dekheila Port is the clean dry casting station - dedicated to grain handling - that will have a quay of 1,150 meters, depth of 15 meters, yard of 200,000 square meters, and annual capacity of 6-7 million tons.

Ain Sokhna

The government had expanded the length of quays at the Port of Ain Sokhna to become 18 kilometers. The port's total surface area is 25 square kilometers and its depth is 18 meters. The development works included a network of internal roads extending on a total of 17 kilometers as well as 33 kilometers of railroads that will be connected to the High-Speed Electric Train's network.

Further, breakwaters have been introduced on a distance of 3,270 meters. The development of that port in specific is intended to cater to green hydrogen projects.

A contract was signed with Hutchison Ports Co. and international shipping companies COSCO, MSC, and CMA to manage and operate container terminals in Ain Sokhna Port.

The minister of transport stated that work is underway to offer a number of terminals in the Ain Sokhna Port for management and operation by the private sector. Those are the container terminal of the fourth basin, and the sixth basin's container terminal, general cargo terminal, and petrochemical station.

Damietta

The port is being upgraded to consist of a container terminal, logistics zone, and international tourism centers. The eastern breakwater has been completed with a length of 1,420 meters, while the construction of the western breakwater, stretching on 5.4 kilometers, is still underway.

The port's access route is being deepened at a cost of LE1.4 billion. That is in addition to constructing a quay lying on 600 meters, having as depth of 17 meters, and yard of 270,000 square meters, with a cost of LE1.3 billion.

The container terminal, also called Long Live Egypt, spans over 922,000 square meters, and has quays extending on 1,970 meters with a depth of 18 meters. Its capacity is 3.5 million containers per annum, and its cost is LE4.5 billion. It is expected to create 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.

A contract was signed with the consortium comprising Eurojet Germany, Contship Italy, Hapag Lloyd, Middle East Logistics Group, and Container Engineering Company to manage and operate the Long Live Egypt 1 terminal at the Port of Damietta. 

Another multipurpose station called Long Live Egypt 2 is being established behind the western breakwater. The LE8.3-billion station has yards stretching on 2.2 millions square meters, quays extending on 3,400 meters, and a depth of 17 meters.

Safaga

The General Authority for Red Sea Ports and Abu Dhabi Ports Group signed earlier in 2023 a 30-year concession agreement to develop and operate a multi-purpose terminal in the Port of Safaga.

The terminal, to stretch on 810,000 square meters, is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2025. Its quay will have a length of 1,000 meters, and a capacity to handle five million tons of general and dry cargo, one million tons of liquid cargo, 450,000 TEUs and 50,000 vehicles.

As per the concession agreement, the Abu Dhabi Ports Group will invest $200 million to develop the superstructure, purchase equipment, construct buildings, and introduce utility network.

Arish

The Port of Arish is being expanded for its surface area to increase almost elevenfold to become 540 acres up from 50 acres. The quay will extend on 2.5 kilometers, and the depth will be 13 meters instead of just seven meters.

The Abu Dhabi Ports Group and the General Authority for the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal signed an agreement, within a LE1-billion deal, to establish a cement handling terminal in the Port of Arish with a capacity of 1-1.5 million tons annually. It is planned to start operation in the fourth quarter of 2023. The group will also build cement storage silos in the port whose capacity is expected to be 60,000 tons.

Oil Ports

Egypt has 17 of those so as the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources began the expansion of the Hamra Petroleum Port lying in Al Alamein province by adding four storage tanks to the existing six. The capacity of each is 630,000 barrels of crude, which will make the total capacity of the port, stretching on 120 feddans, 5.3 million barrels up from 1.5 million barrels. A land adjacent to the port spanning over 420 feddans will also be used for the handling of petroleum products, and as a shipping station.

Port Said, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh 

The Abu Dhabi Ports Group signed an agreement with the General Authority for the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal, within a LE1-billion deal, to establish a cement handling terminal in the Port of West Port Said. Its annual capacity will be one million and one and a half tons, and may start operation in the fourth quarter of 2023. Further, a cement storage silo with a capacity of 30,000 tons to be introduced in the port.

The two parties also signed an MoU to develop a multipurpose station, and a logistic zone in the Port of East Port Said as well as three preliminary agreements, to develop a RoRo terminal, a cruise port, and a multi-purpose station at the Port of Hurghada. The Emirati company will have the right to manage and operate the cruise port in the Port of Hurghada, as well as carrying out the development, management and operation of another in the Port of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Dry Ports

Egypt is introducing 14 dry ports/logistics centers to be dispersed nationwide, and linked with railways and seaports, with a total capacity of five million containers a year. The first of which that entered pilot operation already is October Dry Port (ODP) contributing 500 direct jobs, and 2,000 indirect jobs.

The OPD spans over 100 feddans (one feddan equals 4,500 square meters), has a capacity of 720,000 containers a year, and is located 25 kilometers away from the city's industrial zone.

The port is a joint venture by the Transport Ministry's General Authority for Land and Dry Ports (GALDP), and a coalition comprising Elsewedy Electric and Germany's DB Schenker. However, it was funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).