Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) said on Tuesday it had received 24 units of advanced container-handling equipment for Hutchison Ports' Red Sea Container Terminal (RSCT) in Sokhna. This marks a significant step towards launching the country's first fully automated container port. The equipment — six ship-to-shore cranes and 18 rubber-tyred gantry cranes — was supplied by China's Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC) after completing manufacturing and delivery. The handover ceremony was attended by senior SCZone officials, Hutchison Ports Egypt executives and representatives from China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), ZPMC's parent group. SCZONE said the cranes are equipped with technologies designed to boost efficiency and safety, including automated truck-positioning systems and vessel-profile scanners, and operate using hybrid, environmentally-friendly power systems. The RSCT facility, operated by Hutchison Ports, features a 2,600-metre quay and a 1.6 million square-metre footprint. It will have an annual handling capacity of 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and can berth vessels up to 400 metres long. The project is expected to create more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and strengthen Egypt's position as a regional logistics hub. SCZONE said it is continuing port-development efforts to attract fresh investment and deepen integration between its ports and industrial zones. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English