Alexandria’s container operator is raising terminal fees just as Egypt’s ports pick up rerouted Gulf trade

Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company (ALCN) will introduce four new container charges and raise a fifth starting 1 September, according to a summary of board resolutions filed with the EGX (pdf). The new charges cover full export container entry (USD 15-20), empty container handling (USD 10-20), container retention in the inspection yard (USD 10-20), and container movement for weighing (USD 30-60). The existing inspection and examination charge will rise to USD 32-64 from USD 30-60. All are collected in EGP at the USD equivalent, with the tariff set to be reviewed every six months.

PLUS- There’s a yard expansion in the mix: The board approved awarding an EGP 97.4 mn contract, excluding VAT, to build Yard B at El Dekheila Container Terminal as part of the company’s infrastructure and capacity-expansion plans.

Why this matters: ALCN is the port’s dominant container operator, and that’s what gives this repricing national weight. Its two terminals, spanning roughly 1.6 km of quay across the Alexandria and El Dekheila ports and wired into the national rail network, carry a combined capacity of 1.5 mn TEUs. That’s only about three-quarters of the 2 mn TEU of container capacity the two ports are designed to handle, according to Alexandria Port Authority figures. Containers accounted for 28.3 mn of the port’s record 82 mn tons of cargo in FY 2024/25 — the dry and liquid bulk that make up the rest move through berths ALCN doesn’t run.

However, containers are where Egypt’s manufactured exports and rerouted transit boxes flow, and the bulk of that capacity is ALCN’s. A repricing at its gates, in a complex that handles about 60% of Egypt’s foreign trade, is a cost added at the country’s main container gateway.

Zoom out, and the picture gets less flattering. The new charges land as the terminals ALCN operates sit at the center of two things Egypt is counting on. Strategically, Cairo is targeting USD 145 bn in annual exports by 2030, a goal that relies on the same container gates ALCN is about to make more expensive to pass. Tactically, the port has become a transit beneficiary of the Middle East conflict: with Gulf shipping rerouting around Hormuz disruption, Egypt’s Mediterranean gateways have picked up volume they wouldn’t otherwise see. Imposing fees at this moment runs against the government’s own stated goal of lowering logistics costs and boosting export competitiveness, shipping sources tell us.

Will the repricing actually leave a mark? Currency volatility is the real problem for importers, not the new fees, Matta Bishay, head of the Internal Trade Committee at the General Division of Importers, tells EnterpriseAM, adding that a USD 20-30 increase per container won’t move the needle on a USD 100k shipment. The total hit comes in under 0.5% of final product prices — the kind of bump that turns an EGP 10 item into an EGP 10.25 one — and is a fair response to rising global shipping and ins. costs, Ahmed Ataby, head of the Exporters and Importers Division at the Giza Chamber of Commerce, tells us.

The counterargument: fees add up. The fee may be negligible by shipping-cost standards, but exporters are looking to save every EGP to stay price competitive, Amr El Samadony, secretary-general of the International Transport and Logistics Division, tells us. He warns, however, that its cumulative effect could weigh on exporters facing fierce price competition in Gulf and European markets. Any increase in logistics costs has to be passed on to the price of the goods, potentially weakening their position against rivals with stronger, cheaper logistics networks, he adds.

Ataby sees it differently — for him, the timing is the justification, not the problem. Global shipping pressures, not ALCN’s balance sheet, explain the increase, he tells us. Fuel alone accounts for around 65% of voyage costs, and marine ins. premiums have climbed sharply on the back of the same disruptions. Against that backdrop, he calls ALCN’s increase modest and justified.

What’s next? No other Egyptian container terminal has announced similar increases so far, though industry sources say the Transport Ministry could step in if the fees threaten export competitiveness. Ataby, for his part, expects the opposite. He predicts that other Egyptian terminals will eventually follow ALCN’s lead, arguing that its dominant role in the country’s trade makes its pricing a benchmark for the rest of the market.

Who controls ALCN: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ holds an indirect majority (51.33%) through Alpha Oryx (32%) and AD Ports subsidiary Black Caspian Logistics (19.33%). A move to consolidate that holding under AD Ports — and potentially lift it to as much as 90% — stalled after the Egyptian government refused to sell its combined 43.9% stake. That state holding is split between the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport (36.3%, following a stake increase in April) and the Alexandria Port Authority (7.6%). The remaining 4.76% is in freefloat on the EGX. In FY 2024/25, ALCN posted an EGP 8.37 bn top line, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 64%.