Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visited on Saturday the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) to inspect and inaugurate several strategic projects in East and West Port Said. He was accompanied by Vice Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Sherif Farouk, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie, Chairperson of SCZONE Walid Gamal El-Din, Deputy Governor of Port Said Amr Othman, Head of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Ahmed Al-Azazy, along with several senior officials. Madbouly affirmed that the purpose of the visit was to capitalize on the strategic location of SCZONE and enhance the integration of its infrastructure, aligning with national efforts to establish the zone as a global center for trade, industry, and logistics. He emphasized that the development of ports and industrial areas is a key pillar of this vision, as it plays a crucial role in boosting the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, attracting more foreign direct investment, generating sustainable job opportunities, and improving the efficiency of supply chains. SCZONE Chairperson Walid Gamal El-Din stated that the visit began in the integrated East Port Said area, which stands as a model for economic development in Egypt, combining logistics services, advanced industries, and smart infrastructure. He noted that the authority is committed to promoting integrated development in support of Egypt's strategic goal of becoming a global hub for industry, trade, and services. At the start of his tour in the integrated East Port Said area, the Prime Minister visited the old container exchange quay at the port to review ongoing operations and assess activity levels. Ashraf Abdel Shafi, Director of Projects and Development at the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), explained that the company is an Egyptian joint-stock enterprise operating under the special economic zones system. It has served as a container terminal at East Port Said Port since 2004 and is affiliated with the global AP Moller–Maersk Group, one of the world's largest port operators and owner of some of the largest container vessels globally. Abdel Shafi added that the Suez Canal Container Terminal is strategically positioned at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. It spans an area of approximately 1.2 million square meters, with a quay length of 2,400 meters and total investment reaching $1 billion. The terminal contributes around 55% of all container transit throughput at Egyptian ports, handles about 35% of the country's refrigerated container exports, and accounts for approximately 12% of Egypt's overall imports and exports. With a port depth of 18.5 meters—the deepest among Egyptian ports—it is capable of accommodating the newest generation of ultra-large container ships. Since its inception in 2004, the terminal has handled over 30,000 vessels and more than 50 million containers. He also mentioned that the terminal currently employs approximately 3,200 people, both directly and indirectly, with plans to create 1,000 additional jobs as part of the terminal's expansion project. Notably, the terminal ranked 10th globally in the World Bank's 2022 index, based on criteria including operational efficiency, safety standards, and throughput volume. Kareem Tayeb, Head of Asset Delivery for the SCCT Expansion Project, confirmed that in line with Egypt's strategic vision to attract more foreign investment through tailored incentives, a new concession agreement was signed between SCCT and the Egyptian state. This was finalized by the President's endorsement of Law No. 165 of 2023, which grants the commitment to finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the second terminal of SCCT. The expansion adds 955 meters to the quay length, increasing it to approximately 3,400 meters. With an additional investment of $500m, this development positions the terminal as the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a projected capacity of 7 million containers annually. Infrastructure works for this major national project have already commenced, and the first phase was completed in April 2024. Tayeb confirmed that the new quay has already received nearly 24 vessels. He elaborated that the terminal is now capable of receiving all types and sizes of container vessels, particularly next-generation mega-ships. The facility is equipped to host 18 of the latest quay cranes and 60 yard cranes, with plans to install an additional 12 quay cranes and 30 yard cranes. This will bring the total to 30 quay cranes and 90 yard cranes. With its current capacity of 5 million containers, the terminal is poised to scale up to 7 million containers. Despite challenges affecting maritime traffic in the Red Sea, the terminal achieved a historic milestone by handling 4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2024—the highest throughput in its history. During his visit, the Prime Minister also toured the ongoing project site of Roots, an Egyptian company contributing to the state's food security strategy. The project is one of several strategic initiatives focused on grain trade and storage. It includes a clean dry bulk terminal spanning 267,000 square meters, with a quay length of 500 meters. The terminal is designed with an annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes and total investments of EGP 2.2bn. It is expected to provide 500 direct job opportunities. Madbouly further reviewed the logistics zone affiliated with Roots, which will serve as a regional hub for value-added services. This area covers 400,000 square meters and has an annual capacity of 6 million tonnes. The first phase of this project alone has an investment of EGP 220m and is projected to create 120 job opportunities. The Prime Minister and his accompanying delegation also inspected the ongoing construction work at the Sky Ports project, operated by the Egyptian company of the same name. Company Chairperson Tarek Hussein explained that the multipurpose terminal spans around 380,000 square meters, with a quay length of approximately 900 meters. Its operational capacity is expected to reach 8.5 million tonnes annually, with total investments of $65m and the creation of around 550 job opportunities. He added that the terminal boasts a loading rate of 31,000 tonnes per day, with an average unloading rate of 15,000 tonnes per day. The average vessel waiting time has been reduced to four to five hours. Hussein confirmed that the terminal has already commenced trial operations.
