Hutchison Ports has signed a long-term agreement with Egyptian Navy for the development and operation of a new container terminal in Abu Qir, Egypt. The total investment in the new terminal is estimated to reach $730m.
An online signing ceremony was jointly hosted by His Excellency Commander in Chief Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled Saied, Egyptian Navy and Mr Eric Ip, group MD of Hutchison Ports, together with management teamsg in Hong Kong and the UK.
The new terminal will be located inside the Abu Qir Naval Base, naturally being sheltered by the Abu Qir peninsula. The greenfield project will be connected to a new two-way highway with three traffic lanes on each side and residential bypass, linking it to Alexandria within 20km, as well as to the national road network to the capital city of Cairo and other major cities across the country.
His Excellency Ahmed Khaled Saied said: “The development of Abu Qir signifies the continuation of our successful partnership with Hutchison Ports. We are seeing an increase in export cargo and there is a need for a world-class container terminal to facilitate growing trade.
“This also echoes with President EI Sisi’s Egypt Vision 2030 of regional leadership and sustainable development.”
Mr Ip said: “We have been investing in Egypt since 2005, and it has always been an important market to us, justified by the country’s growing population and economy fuelling container trade.
“The project is designed to have a draught of 18 metres and capable of handling mega-vessels. The pandemic has created many challenges globally, I strongly believe that as a company we are resilient, and I remain positive about the strength of a rebound in global demand.”
The project will be funded primarily by the joint investment of the two partners in phases, with handling capacity of two million teu on completion. It will have a total quay length of 1,200 metres and a 60ha terminal yard, additional 100 ha of land reserved for yard expansion. The new terminal has a concession period of 38 years and the first phase is expected to commence operations in 2022.
