Egyptian port expansion gets under way

30 August 2018
DP World began operating the container terminal at Egypt’s Sokhna Port in 2008

Beijing-based China Harbour Engineering Company says it will complete the expansion of a second basin at Egypt’s Sokhna port in less than 12 months.

DP World Sokhna, the project client, awarded the $84m contract for the expansion of the basin to Chec in March. The 100-day mobilisation period started in late May.

The second terminal basin is being built without dredgers through dry excavation, which reduces the project cost by more than 30 percent, according to a Chinese media report citing Ahmed Omar, Chec deputy project manager.

Omar said they brought all the materials and heavy equipment and finished a large part of dry excavation during the 100-day mobilisation period that started in late May, "so the project will be finished in fewer than 12 months, which is ahead of the timeline."

The first terminal basin is already operating and the second one, which is under construction, will be 1,350 metres long. The expansion work will allow the port to receive more ships.

The project is part of the port’s long-term expansion plan, which includes an integrated logistics area and a general cargo terminal.

Sokhna Port has the capacity to handle up to 14 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container and 4 million tonnes of general cargo annually.

DP World Sokhna is a subsidiary of Dubai-based ports operator DP World. The firm began operating the container terminal at Sokhna Port in 2008.

It is understood that 14 global shipping lines including CGM-SMA, APL, Maersk and Cosco call at the port. Unlike other hubs in Egypt that cater to trans-shipment traffic, the port in Sokhna primarily handles goods that originated from, or are going to, Egypt.

It is located below the southern entrance to the Suez Canal and is the closest port to the capital Cairo, where it has extensive road and rail access.

 

 

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