Egypt’s House of Representatives yesterday gave its final approval to two bills aimed at expanding East Port Said port’s capacity. The projects include a USD 65 mn project to set up a new multi-purpose terminal at the port, as well as the USD 500 mn expansion of a container handling station, according to an SCZone statement.

The first bill: The bill would allow the SCZone to hand a 30-year contract to Sky Logistics and Reliance Logistics to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain the terminal under a build-own-transfer framework, after Egyptian private investment outfit Sky Investments and Reliance Logistics signed the contract back in 2022.

About the terminal: The multipurpose terminal will be built at the western berth of SCZone’s East Port Said Port. It will feature a 900 meter container berth, and include a 380k sqm cargo handling yard.

The second bill: The second bill would allow AP Moller-Maersk’s Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) to start work on the new container terminal at the port, which is expected to raise its capacity by 40% and cost USD 500 mn. The terminal, for which agreements were signed in 2022, will make the terminal the largest in the East Mediterranean, with a total berth length of 3.3k meters, according to the statement.

About the terminal: The SCCT will build a 1k-meter container berth which will have an annual capacity of 2 mn TEU, raising the port’s capacity from 5 mn currently to 7 mn, sources reported earlier. The SCZone has already handed over the 1 km container berth to the East Port Said Port in June, Al Mal reported earlier, adding that the terminal should be operational by 1Q 2025.

What’s next? The bills should now be heading to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to be ratified.

Tags: