Suez Canal Container Terminal Signs Expansion Agreement With Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority
As part of the USD 500 million investment deal, Suez Canal Container Terminal will be expanded with a new additional 955-metre berth and an additional container yard of 510 thousand sq. metres, adding to the current berth length of 2,400 meters and a handling yard of 1.2 million square meters.
Just as the COP27 event takes place in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt), Waleid Gamal El-Dein, Chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and Steven Yoogalingam, CEO and Managing Director of Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), signed on 15th November a concession agreement for “financing, design, construction, management, and operation” of the extension of SCCT, as the second terminal at Port Said East Port, to be located between SCZONE and existing SCCT area.
The project aims to expand the existing SCCT facility (a joint venture container terminal with APM Terminals as majority shareholder) at Port Said East Port, by adding a new berth of 955m and a new container handling yard of 510,000 sq. m. The terminal is currently operating with a berth length of 2,400m and a handling yard of 1.2 million sq. m and is the main operator in Port Said East Port, with annual throughput of 4 million TEUs.
”This project comes within the framework of SCZONE’s consistent support of Egypt’s economic strategy, which aims to develop the Egyptian ports to maximize their role in the global maritime trade and to exploit the various investments to create job opportunities. This is exactly what the project offers, as it aims to expand the existing container terminal in Port Said East Port, with cumulative investments estimated at $500 million, providing 1,000 direct and indirect job opportunities, especially for the residents of Port Said and North Sinai cities,” commented Waleid Gamal El-Dein said, Chairman of SCZONE.
“The targeted additional volume after the expansion will reach 2 million TEUs. This important project was possible thanks to the long-lasting partnership with our Egyptian partners, dating back to 2004 and is a result of A.P. Moller – Maersk’s great confidence and belief in the Egyptian economy”, shared Steven Yoogalingam, Managing Director of SCCT.
The new, technologically advanced terminal will operate on clean and renewable energy, based on electric equipment. This is fully in line with A.P. Moller – Maersk’s and APM Terminals ambition to become fully carbon neural by 2040.
The project also entails the delivery of latest generation port equipment, including 12 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, 30 rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) and 90 trucks, as well as supporting equipment and advanced IT systems. Once operational in 2025, the terminal will create over 1000 new direct jobs in Port Said, in addition to indirect jobs and business opportunities created within the whole port ecosystem.
With the expansion project, the terminal’s operating capacity will increase by over 40% to serve the future network requirements of its customers.
Reference: APM Terminals
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