• Damietta Port receives 10 new cranes, total now 40.

• Terminal to open in 2025, backed by global investors.

• Project aims to triple capacity, cut costs, boost trade.

The new container terminal at Egypt’s Damietta Port has received 10 Rubber-Tired Gantry (RTG) cranes, bringing the total to 40. The delivery, announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7,  marks an important step toward the start of commercial operations, scheduled for late 2025.

Partly financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the port’s second container terminal will be operated by Damietta Alliance Container Terminals, a consortium comprising Eurogate, Contship Italia, MELC Group, Ship & C.R.E.W, and Hapag-Lloyd.

The new terminal covers 93 hectares, with an 18-meter draft and an initial handling capacity of 3.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).

According to Egyptian authorities, the project aims to triple the port’s total capacity while reducing logistics costs and delays. It is a key part of Egypt’s national port development master plan, designed to reinforce the country’s role as a major hub for shipping routes linking the Middle East, Africa, and the Mediterranean. The expansion will also help Egypt take fuller advantage of the heavy vessel traffic transiting the Suez Canal.

Damietta is already one of Egypt’s most important ports and was ranked the 11th most efficient container port in Africa, according to the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) published by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Henoc Dossa