Int'l consortium starts development of new container terminal in Egypt

An international consortium has started the development of a new container terminal of Ain Sokhna Port on the Red Sea in northeastern Egypt.

During a ceremony at the port on Saturday, Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir delivered the terminal to the representatives of the consortium comprised of China's Hutchison Ports, a leading port investor, developer and operator, Chinese state-owned COSCO Shipping and the French shipping company CMA CGM.

The process comes as part of two mid-March agreements signed by Egypt and the consortium on the development and operation of the container terminals at Ain Sokhna Port in Suez Province and Dekheila Port in Alexandria Province, north of Egypt.

"After development, the terminal in Ain Sokhna Port will be the largest container terminal in Egypt, with a length of 2,600 meters, a total area of 1.6 million square meters, and a capacity of 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)," el-Wazir said during the ceremony.

He added that the terminal will allow receiving giant ships with a length of 400 meters.

The expected direct revenues from the two projects would amount to about 5 billion U.S. dollars during the 30-year contract period, the minister noted, adding that the development of the terminals will help build a logistical corridor that links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean to serve global trade between East and West.

He added the corridor will generate more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, as well as make Egypt a global center for trade and logistics.

Meanwhile, King Shan Chung, country representative of Hutchison Ports in Egypt, told Xinhua that Egypt has a huge growth potential in the coming years, which encourages the company to invest in the North African country.

With its northern coast bordering the Mediterranean Sea and eastern coast bordering the Red Sea, Egypt is so strategically located in Africa, he said, adding the company is exploring opportunities to invest in other strategic locations in the country.

Egypt plans to become one of the major global hubs for transport and logistics through a 10-year plan, from 2014 to 2024, to modernize its transport and communication infrastructure, covering the development of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, electric traction, maritime transport, dry ports and logistics. ■