Kamel Al-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and Sky Ports to conduct the necessary studies for establishing, operating, and maintaining an integrated multi-purpose terminal at Ain Sokhna Port. The two sides also signed a licensing agreement granting usufruct rights for a berth and adjacent land areas for 18 months, pending completion of the project's technical studies. The planned terminal will feature a 588-metre berth and a 250,000-square-metre logistics yard, along with covered warehouses totalling up to 100,000 square metres inside the Sokhna industrial zone. It will be directly linked to an integrated customs yard designed to streamline logistics services, accelerate cargo handling, and reduce vessel waiting times. In its first phase, the terminal is expected to begin operations with an annual handling capacity of no less than 2 million tonnes. It will serve shipping lines and trade flows to and from East Africa, Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, the Far East, and India—bolstering Sokhna Port's position as a major hub on global trade routes. Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairperson of the SCZONE, said the project marks a significant step forward in the logistics services offered at Sokhna Port and reinforces integration between the port and the neighbouring industrial zone, supporting both domestic and international supply chains. He added that the SCZONE is working to strengthen links between its ports and affiliated industrial zones through strategic partnerships with local and international private-sector players. Such partnerships, he noted, help reduce logistics costs, enhance loading, unloading, and storage efficiency, and support the state's goal of positioning Egypt as a regional centre for trade and maritime services. He highlighted that development works at Sokhna Port—now nearing completion—will provide multi-purpose terminals catering to a range of activities and investors, further boosting the port's cargo-handling capabilities. For his part, Tarek Hussein, Chairman of Sky Ports, said the government's development of Egyptian ports—across the Red Sea and Mediterranean via the Suez Canal—has strengthened national port capabilities and created a promising investment environment in this vital sector. He added that the current climate offers a strong opportunity for long-term investment in logistics services, which Sky Ports aims to advance at Sokhna Port, building on its successful operation of the sustainable smart terminal in East Port Said—a project that has achieved notable results within a short period. The signing forms part of an integrated development plan. The MoU outlines the long-term objectives—most notably the establishment, operation, and maintenance of an integrated multi-purpose terminal—while the 18-month usufruct agreement serves as an interim step, enabling the use of the berth until the completion of project studies and the signing of the final usufruct contract for the terminal.
