16 March (Lloyd's List) - COSCO Shipping Ports and Hutchison Ports have joined an investment project to build a new terminal at Egypt’s Ain Sokhna port.
Cosco Shipping Ports acquired a 25% stake in the Sokhna New Container Terminal, according to a statement, which said the $375m project will be constructed and operated for 30 years by a terminal company formed by a group of port operators.
Hutchison Ports is another investor for the new terminal, which will have a capacity of 1.7m teu, according to a separate announcement. The Hong Kong-based company said it will also invest in the development of B100, a new container terminal in port of Alexandria, which will serve as a gateway to the Egyptian market.
Hutchison Ports said the combined investment of $700m in the two projects would push its total exposure in Egypt to more than $1.5bn, “paving a solid foundation for the company’s strategy to expand its network and enhance its capabilities in emerging markets”.
The Sokhna New Container Terminal is located at the south of the entrance to the Suez Canal, approximately 120 km east of Cairo, and is close to the northwest of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, an area of 460.6 sq km expected to be Egypt’s industrial, technological and global logistics centre.
Cosco Shipping Ports said the development of the economic zone will boost the competitiveness of Ain Sokhna port in the Red Sea region and help the port become a key logistics hub in the region and Africa. It already has a non-controlling terminal in Egypt.
“The investment in Ain Sokhna port will help the company improve its terminal network in the regions, as well as optimise the company’s global layout,” it said.
