Minister of Transportation Ibrahim El-Demeiry announced late Saturday that the ministry is aiming to increase the volume of trade at Egyptian maritime ports to 270 tons per year. Previous trade volumes had reached 120 tons, making the ministry's announcement a goal to more than double the trade. An official ministerial statement cited El-Demeiry as saying the government has no intentions to privatise any of Egypt's ports. El-Demeiry also mentioned that the ministry has a long-term plan to develop ports until 2050. In February, the transportation ministry earmarked EGP 67m to dredge Damietta Port in order to accommodate giant ships. Around 1 million cubic metres will be dredged as part of the project, a joint operation between Damietta Port Authority (DPA) and Suez Canal Authority subsidiary Timsah Shipbuilding Company. The ministry indicated that it also intends to start using the 4.5 kilometre-long channel connecting the port to the Nile to transport goods. Work in the Damietta Port is expected to be completed by June. Water transportation has been receiving nationwide attention recently. The National Company for Multimodal Transport (NMT), a subsidiary of Nile Logistics, announced in February the launch of a new container transhipment service. The shipment service will transport containers via river barges between Port Said and Sharq Al-Tafrea container terminals, located in Suez Canal.
