Talked about for years, the development of eastern Port Said may finally see the light, reports Mohamed El-Sayed The landscape at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal may well be radically different from now to 25 years, if all goes according to a master plan drawn up to develop the area. This plan was announced by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif last week at an international conference held in the Mediterranean city and attended by dozens of Egyptian and Arab ministers, 200 investors, and representatives of 100 local and international companies. The plan hopes to attract some LE30 billion in investments to develop 24,000 acres, to eventually host major industrial, tourist and residential projects. Prepared by the Dutch consultancy DHV, the plan includes the three-phase development of East Port Said Port over the next 30 years. Scheduled to start in 2009 and to be completed by 2012, the first stage of the development plan includes the addition of 12 square kilometres to the current 35 square kilometres that make up the port. It will include the building of container terminals, general goods stations, ship bunkering stations, dry and floating dockyards, oil storages, logistics services area, hospitals, tourist projects, food industries and parking areas. Invitations for tenders for projects in this phase will be issued within two months of the completion of the final plan of the area, according to officials. Meanwhile the second and third phases of the development plan will also include containers terminals, dry and floating dock yards, and ship bunkering stations. The Ministry of Transportation plans to turn East Port Said Port into the most "important transit trade port on the Mediterranean, and among the 15 most important ports in the world within the coming three years," Minister of Transportation Mohamed Lotfi Mansour said. The ministry's future plan is buoyed by studies conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and the German expert institution ISL, predicting that the capacity of the container- handling in the port will hit 11 million TEUs by 2015. (A TEU is a unit of measurement equal to the space occupied by a standard 20-foot container). By developing Port Said ports and the area surrounding them, the government is planning to "develop the Suez Canal region, a project which is among the priorities of the government in the coming period," according to Mansour. According to studies conducted by international expert houses, the East Port Said Port enjoys a very high potential for success, as the backyard of the port -- of an area of around 35 square kilometres -- is geographically dynamic and expandable at any time, which is considered an important advantage for investors. So far, the port has drawn around LE6 billion worth of investments. In fact, the outstanding location of the port at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal arguably offers great opportunities for ocean carriers, due to its proximity to the East Mediterranean and Black Sea markets. 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. This location, according to experts, has helped containers reach international markets in record time. And given that the Suez Canal is one of shipping's most important crossroads, the port is considered a perfect Mediterranean trans-shipment hub for north-south and east- west liner services, helping vessels to save fuel, cost and time. By announcing its master plan for the area, the government hopes to turn it into a catalyst for the national economy at a time when the global financial crisis is expected to negatively affect the income generated by the Suez Canal, oil and exports. "The current financial crisis [taught us] an important lesson -- investment in long and medium-run infrastructure projects is the real and safest investment," said Nazif. "Announcing the general plan for East Port Said is timely, for it comes at a time when [investors] are searching for safe investment. Investing in infrastructure projects is the best choice now." Meanwhile, the prime minister also added, "the private sector is a key partner in the development process as it pipes huge investments into basic projects. We have successful examples in the ports of Damietta, Sokhna, Alexandria and Port Said." In light of the current crisis, the government is focussing on large scale projects, especially those in the transportation sector like East Port Said, and promoting them worldwide. "The political leadership has assigned the Ministry of Investment to promote the current mega-investment projects," said Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin. "Special attention was given to attracting investments to the transportation sector, which will take the lion's share of foreign investments in the coming few years -- around 25 per cent of the total investments," he added. Government attempts to promote the area seem to have borne fruit early. Many companies have officially shown interest in investing in the area. In addition, Ambassador of the European Commission to Egypt Klaus Ebermann announced the EU would give Egypt 80 million euros in grants, to be invested in the development of the transportation sector, with a special focus in the freight business. The grant agreement will be signed by the end of this month. Ebermann also announced that around 20 European companies have already expressed keen interest in investing in East Port Said.
