“Egypt did not sell the Sokhna Port berth”: Egypt’s Minister of Transport

Kamel al-Wazir, Egypt’s Minister of Transport, discussed the current development work at Sokhna Port, emphasizing the scale and importance of the work on Sokhna Port’s berths.

The Minister said in a television interview on the Egyptian channel “Sada El-Balad” that a new berth was constructed at Sokhna Port with a length of 2.4 kilometers extending into the sea after removing 25 million cubic meters of dry excavation.

The eastern entrance to the port area was also increased by about four million square meters, mediated by Egyptian national companies.

The Minister added that an agreement was reached with several global alliances consisting of Hutchison, CMA CGM and Cosco to operate and manage the Sokhna Port berth and implement the superstructure of electrical, interlocking, control and control buildings, and warehouses.

Regarding the rumors about selling the port’s berths, the Minister confirmed that Egypt did not sell the Sokhna Port berth because the contract was with global alliances; it is only for operation, maintenance, and handing over the superstructure, stressing that the land and berth are owned by Egypt.

“The global operator benefits from the Sokhna berth as it receives a material return for each container movement and operates its own ships, while we (Egypt) receive $9 per square meter annually, $10 for a 20-foot container, and $9 for a transit container because it does not cost much and is considered an addition to the operating capacity,” al-Wazir said.

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