A second container terminal is set to be built at Egypt’s East Port Said, substantially increasing its container capacity.

The Port Said Authority has issued a request for proposals to Egyptian companies interested in the design, construction, management, operation and maintenance of the new terminal.

A pre-bid meeting on 8 April and a bid deadline of 20 May has been set.

The terminal is to be built under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) structure.

With the new terminal, the port authority is aiming to increase overall capacity from 3 million containers to approximately 10 million. The cost of the project is estimated to be $500m.

The areas surrounding Port Said have been recently affected by the renewed riots and anti-government protests. While not completely immune from the effects of the riots, the port itself has escaped any serious impact.

“There has not been any unrest in the ports themselves, but more in the surrounding towns leading to a slowdown in the movement of trailers and containers and in turn the slow clearance of imports and export,” says Simon Edsall, executive vice-president for Europe & North Africa Operations at the UK-based Inchcape Shipping Services.