THE go-ahead for construction of a new channel to Port Said East, enabling ships to access Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) round the clock, has been given by Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish, head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Although SCCT is the only facility in Egypt able to accommodate vessels of 15,500 TEU and above, it has had a tough year, with volumes dropping 11 per cent to 2.5 million TEU in the first 10 months of the year.
The new 9.5-kilometre channel, to be completed in seven months, will be 17 metres deep and 250 metres wide, reports London's Container Management.
As it stands, vessels calling Port Said East are restricted to an eight-hour daily transit window due to the system of convoy traffic on the canal.
SCCT will provide US$15 million of the US$36 million cost of the side channel project with the Egyptian government providing the remainder.
Said SCCT chief Klaus Holm Laursen: "This project reinforces Egypt's major role as a facilitator in global trade and logistics, and we salute the Egyptian Government's foresight and ongoing dedication to economic growth and development.
The project is part of the Suez Canal Development Project which included the opening of the enlarged canal on August 6, now permitting two-way traffic along the 163-kilometre canal linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.
More than 17,000 vessels transited the Suez Canal in 2014, including 6,129 containerships carrying over 42 million TEU.
The dredging project will increase annual throughput capacity at SCCT to 5.4 million TEU, with the delivery of four new super-postpanamax cranes enabling the facility to handle 18,000-TEU ships.
SCCT, which handled 3.4 million TEU in 2014, is run by Maersk's APM Terminals (APMT) and is a joint venture between APMT with a 55 per cent majority share, Cosco Pacific and the SCA.
PORTS
02 December 2015 - 23:02
Port Said East channel approved as terminal volumes decline 11pc in 2015
Port Said East channel approved as terminal volumes decline 11pc in 2015
PORTS
02 December 2015 - 23:02
Port Said East channel approved as terminal volumes decline 11pc in 2015
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