Egyptian President clears East Port Said container terminal 2 concession deal with Maersk

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El- Sisi signed the law of the concession for Container Terminal 2 in East Port Said Port to the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), majority owned and operated by Maersk’s terminal brand APM Terminals.

The contract includes financing, design, development, management, operation, maintenance, and re-delivery of the Container Terminal No. 2 following the build-operate-transfer principal. The new terminal will provide the port with infrastructure for strategic projects.

The Suez Canal Economic Zone’s (SCZONE) Board of Directors approved this project in September 2022, and the contract was signed on the sidelines of the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, last November. The Minister’s cabinet approved the project in May 2023, and the Economic Committee of the Egyptian People’s Assembly approved the project Last July 6.

“This year we celebrated the achievements of East Port Said Port – which handles nearly 80% of the total container transit trade in Egypt – by ranking 10th globally for container handling efficiency in 2022, according to a World Bank report,” Waleid Gamal El-Dien, Chairman of SCZONE, said.

“We also celebrated Mr. President’s ratification of the Container Terminal No. 2 concession agreement for the Suez Canal Container Terminal Company (SCCT), which is one of the most important success partners for SCZONE. The project will cover an area of 511,000 m2 with a berth length of 955 meters.”

The current terminal is 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. The expansion will increase volumes by 2 million TEUs.

The new, technologically-advanced terminal will operate on clean and renewable energy, based on electric equipment. This is fully in line with APM Terminals’ ambition to become fully carbon-neutral by 2040.

The project will also employ the 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.

“We appreciate the strong collaboration between the Egyptian government represented by SCZONE, SCA, the governor, and all governmental authorities, and SCCT to develop a world-class terminal in Port Said and encourage more investment in Egypt through Maersk group,” Steven Yoogalingam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Suez Canal Container Terminal, said.

“We cooperate through a deeply rooted win-win mindset to create good jobs, catalysts for supporting business activities, and contributions to local community welfare (CSR). We are also thankful for the dedication, hard work, and great effort provided by the SCCT team which is the main factor that led to our recent success, and achievements.”