• Egypt launched trial operations at Damietta Port’s second container terminal with the arrival of Hapag-Lloyd’s “ESSEN EXPRESS.”

• The terminal offers 3.5 million TEUs in capacity and aims to triple the port’s overall capacity.

• IFC, EBRD and AIIB financed the project, while Damietta Alliance Container Terminals operates the facility.

Egypt launched the trial phase for the new container terminal at the Port of Damietta this weekend. Officials aim to strengthen the country’s position as a regional hub for trade and maritime logistics through this second terminal.

Operators initiated the test phase by receiving the container vessel “ESSEN EXPRESS,” owned by Hapag-Lloyd. The vessel measures 366.5 meters in length and carries a capacity of 143,262 tonnes. This milestone follows the delivery in October 2025 of 10 rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), which supplemented a previous batch of 30 RTGs already received.

International financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, financed the project. Damietta Alliance Container Terminals, a consortium comprising Eurogate, Contship Italia, MELC Group, Ship & C.R.E.W and Hapag-Lloyd, operates the facility.

The terminal features a quay length of 1,970 meters and a water depth of 18 meters. The platform provides a handling capacity of 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Authorities state that the terminal aims to triple the port’s capacity and reduce logistics costs and transit times. The project forms part of Egypt’s broader port sector master plan, which rests on three pillars.

The first pillar focuses on developing seaports through breakwater construction and the building of quays with depths of up to 25 meters. Authorities plan to extend the country’s total quay length to more than 100 kilometers, expand operational areas and strengthen the maritime tugboat fleet.

The second pillar aims to expand the national maritime fleet to 40 vessels by 2030. The third pillar relies on strategic partnerships with major international companies to better integrate Egyptian ports into global trade networks and supply chains.

Damietta ranks among Egypt’s leading ports. The platform placed 11th in Africa in 2024 on the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) published by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

This article was initially published in French by Henoc Dossa

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum