Damietta Port to build second container terminal

The Port of Damietta Authority signed an agreement earlier this week with China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. for the construction and development of an additional container terminal at the Egyptian port.    The Port of Damietta Authority has signed an agreement with China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. for the construction and development of a second container terminal, the port authority said in a statement.
   Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this week, China Harbor will build a terminal with berths totaling 2,225 meters long, a 17-meter harbor depth, and 700,000 square meters of container storage space at the Egyptian port.
   The Chinese government will provide 85 percent of the necessary funds for the project, but the Port of Damietta will retain complete ownership of the new terminal, the port authority said.
   Construction is expected to take 24 months, and in the meantime, the Port of Damietta Authority plans to launch an international tender process to select an operator to run the terminal upon completion.
   The authority said it conducted feasibility studies that “confirm market and economic effectiveness of the new terminal, which will greatly enhance already operating national container terminal performance in accommodating latest containerships and hence improve the ranking of Damietta among East Mediterranean container hub ports.”
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, a total of seven liner services call the Port of Damietta on a regular basis.
   They include the Ocean3 Alliance’s MEX loop, which connects Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East via the Suez Canal; the G6 Alliance’s Asia Suez Express (AZX) service between Asia, the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, the Mediterranean, and the East Coast of the U.S. and Canada; the joint CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd NEWMO/EAX, which connects Europe and the Mediterranean with Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent; the India East Coast Express (IEX/INDAMEX) between the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, and U.S. East Coast, which is jointly operated by Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, NYK and OOCL; two Europe and Mediterranean to the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent services, and one intra-European loop.