El Wehda and state entity form JV to build region’s first large-scale shipbreaking yard

Africa’s first large-scale shipbreaking yard should hopefully soon be arriving in Egypt, with the state-run Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and El Garhy Steel’s Wehda Industrial Development jointly establishing a company to pursue the project, according to a Transport Ministry statement.The newly formed company builds on an MoU to two companies inked In May.

The project will be built on a 2 mn sqm area next to Damietta Port, with facilities that can accommodate ships up to 400 m and a displacement weight of 40k tons. In addition to shipbreaking, the project will also build and repair vessels. The project is also set to create 4k direct and indirect jobs.

Increasing the local supply of raw materials is a big reason why the government is so keen on the project, with Transport and Industry Minister Kamel El Wazir saying that the scrap produced by breaking down the ships will help reduce the local iron and steel industry’s import bill. An added plus is also the environmental benefit of recycling these materials, he added.

The project should produce 1.5 mn tons of scrap a year within five years — doubling the amount that is currently collected locally. At present, a lack of input materials is contributing to factories working way under capacity, as the country’s rebar manufacturers are only rolling out roughly 8 mn tons of rebar a year — around half of the total 16 mn tons they have the capacity for, El Wazir said.

PLUS- The two sides also inked an MoU to further commercial and investment cooperation, with a specific focus on establishing and managing unclean dry bulk terminals in the hope of taking part in the state’s plan to establish one in Dekheila port.