Suez container terminal expects more traffic from canal expansion

APM Terminals’ Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) at the northern end of the waterway will be the largest on the Mediterranean, according to the terminal operator.    In the wake the official opening of an expanded section of the Suez Canal, APM Terminals said the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) at the northern end of the waterway near the Mediterranean will complete its “phase two” expansion next year, doubling its original capacity to 5.4 million TEUs.
   “As one of the world’s most important waterways, the expanded Suez Canal will play an even greater role as a gateway of global trade, and we are proud to be a part of that ongoing progress for Port Said East, the people of Egypt, and the global shipping industry” said APM Terminals’ Chief Operating Officer Jeff De Best, who attended the official Suez   Canal expansion opening ceremonies Thursday.
   Located in Port Said East, the SCCT will be the largest box facility in the Mediterranean, according to APMT. Over $800 million has been invested in the terminal for the expansion project.
   SCCT opened in 2004 and originally had a capacity of 2.7 million TEUs and a dozen cranes.
   With the expansion in progress, the terminal has grown large enough to handle 3.5 million TEUs in 2014, primarily via transshipment. Four additional cranes will be delivered next summer, doubling the 2004 number to 24.
   The new ship-to-shore cranes at the terminal will have a 72 meter reach, and a height of 52 meters, giving them the ability to handle the world’s largest vessels now entering the global fleet.
   APM Terminals owns 55 percent of the terminal. Other shareholders are: Cosco Pacific, 20 percent; Suez Canal Authority and affiliates, 10.3 percent; National Bank of Egypt, 5 percent; and Egyptian private sector investors, 9.7 percent.