DP World secures last-minute extension for its Thai port concession

Last-minute extension for DP World’s Thai port concession

DP World’s Laem Chabang International Terminal (LCIT) secured a five-year extension to operate the B5 container berth at Thailand’s largest container hub, Laem Chabang Port — extending the concession from this month through April 2031, according to a statement.

Why this matters: Intra-Asia shipping has become one of the most contested container markets. Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia are now pushing port upgrades to handle bigger vessels and rising cargo volumes, positioning Laem Chabang’s next phase — and DP World’s renewed berth position — within a wider regional upgrade cycle. Laem Chabang’s next phase is designed to increase the port’s container capacity to 18 mn TEUs annually from 11 mn TEUs.

The Laem Chabang extension fits a wider DP World push across Southeast Asian gateways. In Indonesia, the port operator is expanding Belawan New Container Terminal to 1.4 mn TEUs and building a new 3 mn TEU terminal with Maspion Group in East Java, alongside an industrial and logistics park. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, DP World operates Saigon Premier Container Terminal and has added a domestic coastal logistics service with VIMC Lines, tying port capacity more directly to manufacturing zones.

Levant gas exchange to get an Egypt-backed facelift

Egyptian-Jordanian JV Technical Gas Services (TGS) issteppingin to overhaul the Lebanese segment of the Arab Gas Pipeline. Under the agreement, TGS will repair around 30 km of 24-inch pipe and upgrade metering stations and power plant connections.

Why it matters: This is the technical follow-through needed to make good on Egyptian and Jordanian pledges to supply Lebanon’s Deir Ammar Power Plant with natural gas. While both countries had started pumping gas to Lebanon and Syria back in January, the aging Lebanese domestic network has slowed down distribution. Deploying TGS to modernize these lines ensures the local infrastructure can handle the flows needed to stabilize the country’s energy supply.

Formalizing what we already know: This comes after Lebanon signed an agreement with Syria and Jordan to pool natural gas resources last week. The agreement adds to a broad energy collaboration framework emerging between Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Under this arrangement, Jordan and Egypt receive and regasify LNG shipments using their co-rented floating storage and regasification unit — the Energos Force, currently docked at Jordan’s Aqaba Port — before pushing the natural gas north through to Syria and Lebanon via the Arab Gas Pipeline. Israeli gas heading to Jordanian and Egyptian markets could also be part of the mix flowing to Syria and Lebanon, our Logistics desk previously reported.

MEANWHILE- Jordan secures back-up regasification capacity: Jordan’s National Electric Power Company signed an agreement with the US LNG infrastructure firm Excelerate Energy to lease a floating storage and regasification unit for the Sheikh Sabah LNG Terminal in Aqaba. The agreement comes before the Energos Force rental expires at the end of next month.

The leased unit is meant to keep Aqaba running until Jordan completes its planned onshore regasification unit, which is designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of the country’s gas import infrastructure.