It’s another mixed bag for Egypt’s ports in the World Bank’s port performance index: Five of Egypt’s ports — Port Said, Dekheila, Damietta, Alexandria, and Sokhna ports — made it onto the World Bank and S&P Global’s annual Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2023 (pdf), with mixed results across the board. Port Said once again came in as the highest-ranking Egyptian port, securing the 16th spot out of 405 ports in the worldwide ranking.

How the index works: The index is based on data compiled from S&P’s Global Port Performance Program, first inaugurated in 2009 “to drive efficiency improvements in container port operations” and containing a wealth of data on port calls, departure frequencies, and other data related to port efficiency. The index takes into account time spent in port and the efficiency with which port hours are spent, deploying operational time stamps to track movement across ports and metrics like crane productivity to approximate the efficiency of hours spent at port. The index includes 405 of the 508 ports for which S&P Global has data, excluding all ports with less than 24 valid port calls within a calendar year.

Port Said Port landed in the 16th spot of the overall ranking in 2023 — down from the 10th spot last year, making it the highest-ranked Egyptian port on aggregate.

Topping the MENA region was Oman’s Port of Salalah, which once again ranked #2 globally — second only to China’s Yangshan Port, which also retained the #1 spot.

Some ports saw huge improvements over the previous year: Alexandria Port ranked 172 overall, significantly up from its 268 ranking in 2022. Sokhna Port also saw significant improvements in its rankings, coming in at 122 overall, up from 269 in 2022.

But some others saw significant dips in their performance: Dekheila Port came in at 341 overall, plummeting from 172 in last year’s aggregate ranking. Damietta also saw a significant drop in its rankings, with its aggregate score coming in 387 overall, down from 173 in 2022. This is the second consecutive year of significant drops in the rankings of both ports which had an aggregate ranking of 133 for Dekheila and 56 for Damietta in 2021’s CPPI (pdf).

CURRENT INVESTMENTS IN PORT INFRASTRUCTURE ARE STARTING TO PAY OFF-

Progress in expansion plans contributed to improved results in some of the ports: Projects to develop the infrastructure of the Alexandria Port and Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) ports are about 80-90% complete — which has led to faster processing, higher storage capacities, and quicker docking and unloading of ships, a government source told Enterprise. Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry is in the process of developing the rest of Egypt’s ports in tandem with the ongoing projects, the source said.

Ships are frequenting Egyptian ports despite Red Sea tensions: The number of ships that visited Egypt’s ports rose 13% y-o-y to 14.4k in 2023, with containers amounting to around 8.4 mn and a total cargo movement of around 180 mn tons — most of which took place in commercial ports like Sokhna, Alexandria, and Damietta, the source continued.

Developments to the infrastructure of Egypt’s ports have contributed to increased movement and circulation in the ports, which came despite the continuing geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea. The container terminal at Alexandria Port in particular played a significant role in absorbing East Asian trade, with the port receiving a significant amount of goods.

The government’s plans to develop the infrastructure of the Alexandria Port were 80% completed by the end of the year, with the Alexandria Port Authority solving previous issues related to congestion and establishing a new container terminal, another government source told us. The authority also contracted the Egyptian-Dutch Shipping Company to complete logistical stations and to connect the Alexandria Port to the International Coastal Road and other logistics areas, as well as the Sixth of October dry port — all of which contributed to increased activity in the port, the source said.

Sokhna Port also saw considerable progress: The port saw the construction of five new basins to increase its capacity to receive larger ships. The length of the port’s berths were also extended by 18 km, bringing the total length of the port’s berths to 23 km by the end of 2023, from just 5 km previously. This helped accelerate the movement of goods and reduced costs by a significant amount, a source at Sokhna Port told Enterprise. Ships were also able to reduce costs by unloading their cargo at Sokhna Port to be transported by train to other ports, as the port is connected to a 17 km railway line linked to the high-speed electric train. This was 70% less expensive for firms than completing their journey by sea to unload at other ports connected to the railway network, the source added.

The government was able to complete over 90% of its plans to develop Sokhna Port, contributing to the port’s increased throughput and helping it become one of the region’s most important ports, the source said. This was also aided by agreements with the Customs Authority to implement faster logistical procedures, the source added.

A Hutchison Ports-led container terminal was also established, with berths totaling 2.6k meters in length and covering an area of 1.6 mn square meters, with a capacity of 3.5 mn TEUs annually. The terminal, which can accommodate ships with lengths of up to 400 meters, is managed by a consortium of Hutchison, French shipping company CMA CGM, and China’s COSCO.

Remember: The government last year signed two initial agreements worth USD 1.6 bn with two Hutchison Ports-led consortiums to develop new container terminals at Ain Sokhna and Dekheila ports, with the companies set to operate and maintain the terminals for 30 years.

The private sector will have a big role to play in the ports’ developments: Partnerships with the private sector will play a “key role” in the development of Egypt’s ports as well as the Transport Ministry’s plans of creating seven logistical corridors supporting Egyptian trade, where private sectors will be involved in developing the superstructure of major ports, expanding berths, creating container terminals, as well as the operating and managing dry ports, our sources said.

Your top infrastructure stories for the week:

• AD Ports subsidiary Noatum acquired a majority stake in Safina for an undisclosed sum. The agreement to acquire the stake in the “key player in the Egyptian maritime industry” will close in 3Q 2024.
• Hapag-Lloyd will avoid the Red Sea until year end, the German shipping giant said in a statement, instead opting to send its vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
• Amendments to the Maritime Trade Law got the greenlight as part of wider efforts to “transform Egypt into a global hub for trade and logistics and maximize the role of the maritime transport sector.”