Egypt aims to renegotiate Suez Canal container port deal

Egypt is trying to renegotiate an extension of an agreement worth $1.5 billion with Suez Canal Container Terminal which has a concession to run a port near the entrance to the canal, a government official said.

Ahmed Amin, an advisor to Egypt's transport minister, attended talks two weeks ago with SCCT, which is 55 percent owned by APM Terminals, part of the Maersk group.

Amin told Aswat Masriya, a news website sponsored by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, that talks in December would focus on the 14-year extension of the concession for the port, East Port Said. The extension agreement partially exempted SCCT from rent and other fees in exchange for the company building an $80 million pier.

Amin said the terms of the extension were worth more than $1.5 billion.