East Port Said Port could be the vehicle of an entire industrial, agricultural and tourism zone, Mohamed El-Sayed reports "With its prime location at the head of the Suez Canal and vast hinterland for expansion, it is hoped that development of the area will serve as an engine for economic growth," concluded a report issued by the World Bank in April 2005, commenting on the great growth potential of Egypt's most promising new terminal. The report was cemented by a recent one published in Lloyd 's magazine, the world's most famous maritime transportation publication, that ranked the Egyptian port the sixth biggest Mediterranean container port. Located on one of the world's major cargo routes between Asia and Europe, the port enjoys a strategic location that provides world-class services to ocean carriers. It has helped containers reach international markets in record time. "East Port Said Port began life as a trans-shipment hub, but its prime location and vast hinterland means that it could turn into a vital hub for a number of services such as bunkering and ship repair," said Admiral Sherine Hassan Mahmoud, chairman of the Port Said Ports Authority. The location and growing business of the port, government officials hope, will nurture a free trade zone behind it. "More advantages include Egypt's low labour costs, and large market of 70 million people. In addition, the Red Sea area, comprising the Arabian peninsula and East Africa, can be served from Port Said East Port," the World Bank report added. The entire area of East Port Said, including the port, the industrial, agricultural and tourism zones located behind the container terminal operated by Suez Canal Containers Terminal (SCCT) should attract large investments in the coming few years. "The area behind the port includes basic infrastructure facilities like sewage, telecoms and fresh water supply," Mahmoud pointed out. "Moreover, there's an area of nearly 29 million square metres still available for utilisation. This area could be used for transit container storage, value-added activities and finally in establishing major logistic centres," Mahmoud added. Other investment opportunities in the area include establishing electronic assembly, packing, and distribution factories inside the port. "In addition, manufacturers can develop value-added industries, especially those related to maritime trade in the industrial area of nearly 87 square kilometres that could be utilised in other industrial fields." Investment opportunities inside the port, according to Mahmoud, could also be of great interest to Egyptian and international investors. "Loading, unloading, stripping, stuffing, bulk storage, tank storage, general warehousing, conditioned warehousing, and distribution centres are among the logistics services that investors can pipe their money into," Mahmoud added. Ziyad Bahaaeddin, head of the General Investment Authority, concurred, "the recent period has witnessed an upsurge in the number of projects in the free zone, especially those working in the field of oil and marine transportation, thanks to the excellent location of East Port Said Port," he noted. He further elaborated that there are now 22 projects in this area, with investments amounting to $1.4 billion. "Exports from this area hit $472 million in 2006, 60 per cent more than in 2005. It is also expected that 42 new industrial projects will be built in the free zone, providing 12,000 job opportunities."
